Who Says Fairy Tales Are Normal?
by GemNika
Summary: CoLu Week Compilation. "Beauty & the Beast" Universe. After Fairy Tail's disbandment, she stumbles on Crime Sorciere. Lucy is one of them, but how useful will she really be? And why is it that she's gained the undivided attention of their resident psychopath? (Rated M for a reason)
1. 2015 - Beauty and the Beast, Part 1

**A/N: I decided to consolidate some of my CoLu Week stories from the past few years into their own separate stories for the readers who like to read them without searching through everything. Because several of the 2015 stories were continued in 2016 (and some will be continued with 2017's CoLu Week), it makes more sense to have them separate, especially since I know a good number of you like re-reading them.**

 **I have gone through this and edited it. Because when I first wrote this, it was only a few months after I'd started writing. Hopefully you enjoy the changes that were made. They're not major, but just revision things that I see now that should have been handled before.**

 **Because of the length of this story in particular, I'm going to break it up into a couple chapters just for the 2015 entry, and then some more chapters for the 2016 entry.**

 **There is a continuation of this story for CoLu Week 2017, and that'll be posted on the proper day during that event in** _ **this**_ **story… Assuming I've actually gotten all of the chapters for 2015/2016 edited and posted.**

 **I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

 _ **2015 - Fairy Tale, Part 1**_

 _ **Beauty and the Beast**_

* * *

Lucy groaned when early morning sunlight started shining in her tent as the flap was pulled back. The bright, and far too cheery, voice of Meredy filled the tent just before her blanket was ripped from her. "Why?" Lucy groaned, struggling to pull the blanket back over her.

"Aw, c'mon, Lucy!" Meredy giggled as she pounced on the blonde. "It's time for breakfast."

"No… Time for sleep… Five more minutes, Natsu…" Lucy yawned and rolled over, snuggling into the warmth that was occupying her bed.

Meredy's smile faded in an instant. It was no secret just how hard Lucy had taken the disbanding of her guild, or essentially being left behind by everyone she loved as they scattered to the winds. It had been only a few months since Crime Sorciere had pulled the members of the Oracion Seis into their ranks, but Lucy herself had only joined the day before.

More like the previous night.

She'd accidentally stumbled on their location in the woods while Cobra was off doing recon for Jellal—which resulted in the poor blonde having attacks thrown at her from every direction, and the six present members of their little guild being nearly sliced in half by water. Still, Lucy was an absolute sweetheart, and she had felt obligated to help them clean up their camp after her attack had flooded the place.

After the cleanup was complete, Jellal had asked if she wanted to join, and she had surprisingly agreed.

"Hurry the fuck up in there!" Cobra shouted. Honestly, he didn't think he would be able to handle the blonde's fucked up dreams for much longer. Everything she thought about ended up becoming a literal interpretation of itself.

The phrase 'batting eyelashes,' for example, provided the mental picture of a single enormous eyeball with baseball bats for eyelashes. That shifted into baseball bats with black leathery wings. And finally the little blonde running up to a large capital 'I' and hitting the eyelashes with a winged baseball bat, causing them to flutter into the air only to turn into leather whips and snakes... All while screaming 'Aye!' She was fucking insane, and that was saying something if it was coming from him.

"Lucy," Meredy said gently. "Breakfast is ready. You've gotta get up and pack up. We'll be leaving soon."

"Mmm… fine," Lucy huffed. She rubbed her bleary eyes and slowly opened them only to catch a flash of pink hair.

Jellal's eyes went wide as a loud shriek pierced the air, but before he could even move to find out what was going on, Meredy flew backwards out of Lucy's tent. She landed with a far too loud thud on the ground, even bouncing a few times, and he turned to look at the tent she had been forcibly removed from only to see Lucy walking out with her whip in hand and a fierce scowl on her usually cheery face.

"Natsu _I-Wish-You-Had-A-Middle-Name_ Dragneel!" Lucy shouted as she stomped over to the pink-haired blob on the ground, raising her whip into the air. "How many times to I have to tell you not to crawl into my..."

Lucy froze and blinked repeatedly when she heard a feminine groan, clearing the last of the sleep from her eyes. Her arm fell to her side when recognition finally hit her as Meredy shakily sat up.

"Well, shit… Sorry, Meredy! All I could see was pink hair…"

Meredy coughed as Angel came over to help her stand up. "It's alright," she rasped as she put a hand to her ribs. "Maybe we'll have Angel wake you up in the morning… I don't want to get kicked again…"

"Blondie, you might wanna put some clothes on," Cobra chuckled, giving the barely dressed blonde a feral grin as he looked over her body. "Pretty sure you're about to break Midnight."

Lucy frowned and looked down, only to blanch when she remembered only going to sleep in a bra and panties the night before because it was way too damn hot, and she'd already sweat through the clothing she'd been planning to wear to bed. Of course, it had to be her crimson lace set with a matching pair of nearly see-through boyshorts.

Throwing her hands up in the air in defeat, and feeling her face turning a bright shade of red, Lucy sighed and walked back towards her tent. When Midnight choked on the food he was eating, and Cobra started cackling, she could only find it in herself to roll her eyes.

"I give up. It's inevitable for _everyone_ I meet to see my underwear. Don't worry, guys! I'm sure you'll be seeing more of it at some point!" She sighed again and muttered under her breath, "Honestly, why do I even bother with clothing anymore?"

"If it makes you feel better, I think it looks really nice!" Meredy shouted when the tent flap closed behind Lucy. She couldn't help but giggle when a hardly annoyed _"Not helping!"_ came shooting back at her from the blonde.

When Midnight finally stopped coughing, Cobra watched a small bit of food fly from between his black-painted lips and into their morning fire. "You gonna live?" he asked, looking back at the Reflector mage. "Because I can just finish you off… Just sayin'."

"Asshole," Midnight muttered. "I wasn't staring at—"

"Your nose is bleeding," Angel sighed.

"Totally unrelated," Midnight said as he quickly wiped at his nose.

"You've got a boner," Racer added with a smirk.

"Oh YEAH!" Hoteye agreed.

"I just woke up," Midnight muttered.

"Aww, it's okay," Meredy chimed in. "Lucy's really pretty. I'm sure you two would make beautiful babies."

"Yes, her lingerie _is_ the same color as your eyes," Angel supplied. She laughed when Midnight's eyes widened and a fountain of fresh blood started pouring from his nose when he obviously pictured what Lucy had been wearing.

"Oh, see?" Meredy clapped and wriggled in her seat. "A perfect match! I think I'll call you MidLu!"

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Cobra groaned. His head dropped to his hands when Midnight crumpled to the ground. "Here we go again."

* * *

"Wait," Meredy said, frowning. "You're saying we're going to go undercover to a _costume party_? How exactly does that match up with finding Zeref's—"

"We have reason to believe a dark guild will be attacking the partygoers," Jellal answered. "I don't fully understand the reasoning behind it, but my sources are reliable."

"Meaning you got a call from that hammer-wielding psychopath," Cobra grumbled.

"At any rate," Jellal continued a little louder than before, "We will have two people inside, under the guise as guests, and the rest of us will scan the perimeter. Racer, I'm sure you'll be able to sneak inside unnoticed, so you can act as a liaison in case the culprits are already inside to launch an attack. At your signal, we'll rush in and finish them off, then see if we can't get any information out of them."

"How are we deciding who's going in?" Angel asked.

"Draw straws?" Meredy supplied with a shrug.

Lucy frowned and looked over at Jellal. "What kind of party did you say it was?"

"A costume pa—"

"No," Lucy laughed. "I mean, what's the _name_ of the function?"

"I'm… not entirely sure, to be honest. Erza didn't mention a name."

"Who's throwing the party?"

"Lord Mason Aurus," Jellal said. Lucy deflated right before his very eyes, her skin taking on a slightly green hue, and he found himself frowning in confusion.

"Wait, it's a high society party?" Angel shouted. "How the hell are we supposed to even get in there?! Those things are always by invitation only."

Jellal let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I have no idea, Angel. I just know that we need to have people inside."

Lucy could feel her stomach churning at the thought of what she was going to do. She didn't notice the way Cobra's eye shot over to her while he raised an intrigued eyebrow, and took a deep breath. Then another. "Give me a minute… I'll get an invitation…"

She really didn't want it to work, and it was entirely likely that it would just be a waste of time. But she had to try. Even if it was a huge hit to her pride.

Seven sets of eyes shot over to the blonde, watching as she pulled a lacrima from her bag while they all sat around the recently doused fire. "How are you going to do that?" Meredy asked.

Lucy wiped her face clean with a small cloth, then pinched her cheeks to give them a slightly pink hue. As she was adjusting her hair, pulling it up and away from her face into a quick updo, she said, "He was one of the nasty bastards that was trying to marry me a few years back." She leaned forward in her seat and adjusted the already low cut to her top and highlighting her cleavage. "My dad turned down his proposal at the time, but he's got a thing for blondes. You'll see…"

With that she sent a short burst of magic into the lacrima and bit her lips slightly to deepen the pink hue to them.

' _Please don't work. Please don't work. Oh my god, I can't believe I'm doing this…'_

Everyone sat in silence while Lucy's back suddenly went ramrod straight, a subdued and demure smile sitting on her lips. When the call was answered, she fluttered her eyelashes slightly, her normally vibrant brown eyes seeming much duller in comparison.

"That... is the creepiest thing I've ever seen in my life," Midnight whispered.

"Just wait," Cobra whispered back. "She's like a fucking card catalogue. Running through everything she learned when she was a kid. It's about to get a whole lot fucking creepier."

A soft giggle left Lucy's lips when the aged face of Lord Aurus appeared on the screen, seemingly bored until he realized who was on the line. "Good morning, Lord Aurus," she said softly, forcing her flush on her cheeks to deepen while she glanced away from the lacrima.

"Lucy Heartfilia," came the disembodied baritone voice. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I have been informed that you are holding a ball tomorrow night."

A throaty laugh sounded through the camp from the orb in her hands. "I am, my dear. Still getting right to the point with you, I see."

Lucy bowed her head slightly. "Yes, sir. I see no point in wasting your valuable time, especially when you have every right not to grant my request."

' _Please don't work… Turn it down… Please don't work…'_

"And just what might that request be? I _am_ a married man, you know."

"Yes, sir." Lucy let out another soft giggle, internally retching over how she was acting. "In truth, I am working for a large real estate company in Crocus, and they have asked if I would be willing to attend your ball for networking purposes. They believe that the only person suited for attending would be someone with the same upbringing as your other guests, as they do not wish for their company to be misrepresented."

She watched as he put a finger to his chin, turning away for a moment to look at something on his desk.

"They personally did not believe that I would be able to garner such favor from you, sir," she continued. "I have already assured them that you are possibly the most generous and charitable of those in high society, and they have agreed that any future business that is propagated from my interactions with your guests will result in a percentage of the revenue being sent to your estate."

"How much of a percentage, Miss Heartfilia?"

She adjusted the lacrima slightly so he could get a better view of her chest, watching as his eyes glazed over slightly. "I was told fifteen percent, sir," she rasped. It was time to throw in the stomach-churning seduction technique that she knew would work on him. It never worked on anyone else when she was in Fairy Tail, but with this creep it was a surefire success. When his brow raised, his face hardening at such a low percentage, Lucy glanced away. "It is not my place to handle such details, but I'm sure someone as..." Her eyes returned to the slightly wrinkled face on the lacrima. "Influential and powerful, and with such a... _Brobdingnagian_ presence as yourself could easily increase that percentage to a more suitable figure."

"I _do_ enjoy suitable figures, Miss Heartfilia," he replied as he eyed her chest longingly. "The larger and more rounded, the better."

Lucy smiled and looked away bashfully, a small giggle bubbling up that was thick with bile. "Oh, I hoped you would see it that way, sir. Do we have a deal?"

Damnit all to hell, it was going to work.

There was a long pause. "Very well, Miss Heartfilia. It will be most enjoyable to have you in attendance at my annual Fairy Tale Ball. I suppose you will be bringing a guest with you?"

"Of course, sir. Women should _never_ be left unattended. I will have someone with me to ensure my protection at all times. Thank you for your concern."

"I have added you and a guest to the list, my dear. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow night."

With another small bow of her head, Lucy watched as the lacrima cut off, then blew out a heavy sigh and fell into a much more comfortable position. "It's done. Also, I might vomit." She grimaced when her stomach roiled uncomfortably, then curled forward so her head sat between her knees. When she was met with only silence, Lucy slowly turned to see everyone staring at her with wide eyes—with the exception of Cobra, who was just staring at her in general. "… What?"

"That was some of the most pathetic, chauvinistic _bullshit_ I've ever seen," Angel said with a sneer. "Never left unattended? Really?"

"Yeah," Meredy said. "And how did you switch your whole personality like that?"

Lucy gave a weak shrug that was more a twitch in her shoulder than anything else. "It's how I was raised to act. And the reason I left that all behind."

"And you were able to get him to agree, _how_ exactly?" Jellal asked.

"Because he's a pompous ass that likes having his ego about his 'philanthropic nature' stroked. Also, I told him that he'd be getting a cut of any pay that came from my being at his party..."

"Blondie, you used a euphemism for him having a huge dick," Cobra sneered. " _Brobdingnagian_? Really? That guy sounded fucking old as hell."

Lucy raised an eyebrow at that. There weren't many people that actually knew that word in the first place, and how she had been forcing herself to purr the syllables only heightened the emphasis of her innuendo so Lord Aurus would get it. The fact that Cobra of all people picked that out was actually a pleasant surprise. "I'm fully aware of that, which is why I'm getting ready to upchuck everywhere... Luckily, we now have an invitation for myself plus one other person, and we know that the particular _theme_ for the party is a fairy tale."

While the others continued questioning Lucy about the multiple personality shit she'd just pulled, Cobra was simply watching her.

He'd been listening in the entire time she was on that call, and the sheer amount of obscenities that were running through her head had actually left him mildly impressed. Add onto that the fact that her mind was set up in the most systematic filing system he'd ever encountered, with rows upon rows of information all neatly tucked away until she needed to access them, and he was finding himself just a little more intrigued. Well, that was just a section of the way her mind worked.

It seemed the newest addition to their little group of fucked up-ness was someone he would be keeping an eye on, if for no other reason than to block out the sheer amount of crazy that perpetrated the minds of the rest of the group. At least Lucy's crazy shit was neatly cordoned off from her sane shit, which meant Cobra could just nestle himself on that filing system side and relax.

"Well, if it has to be a man that accompanies you," Hoteye said with a wide grin, "I would love to take on that role. Oh YE—"

Lucy put up a hand and scowled at him. "Oh _no_ , Koolaid Man. Oh no!"

The group suddenly went dead silent again, all of them gaping at the blonde. She had only joined them the day prior, so they couldn't understand just how she had come to give Hoteye the exact same nickname that had been bestowed on him by Cobra for the last few months.

 _'If I hear another 'Oh yeah' I'm getting a boulder and smashing his face to pieces, then making him into costume jewelry...'_

After a pregnant silence, Angel cleared her throat. "I feel like you and Cobra would be a good match to work together..."

Cobra barely suppressed the amused smirk that wanted to cross his face. The little blonde was definitely becoming more interesting by the second. When he considered having to spend any amount of time with her for the upcoming mission, looking over her curves once more and recalling just what she had looked like in only her lingerie, all he could think was, _'Oh… yeah…'_

As Meredy began to spiral out of control, just as Mira had done countless times at the bar when she found a new ship she loved, Racer simply whispered, "… Wow…"

Midnight snorted and suddenly opened his eyes, looking around in confusion at the odd behavior of his guild mates. "What did I miss?"

"Angel, you might have a point," Jellal said. He had to try and keep some semblance of order. "Although I'm not sure if Cobra would be the best option…"

"Well, Hoteye is out of the question," Angel said. "Midnight is constantly dozing off, and I'm pretty sure no one will exactly approve of his love of makeup... Or those pesky nosebleeds." She grinned when Midnight shot her a sleepy glare before falling asleep again. "Racer already has a job for the mission, and _you_ are far too recognizable. Most of the people there will know exactly who you are with just a glance."

"Angel has a point, Jellal," Lucy said. "Cobra, while _also_ memorable based on his appearance, isn't nearly as well-known as you are since he wasn't a member of the Council, or one of the Ten Wizard Saints. These parties call for men who can easily dominate a conversation, assert their authority, and have the ability to hold their tongue when the occasion calls for it."

"And his magic would give him the upper hand when talking to anyone there," Jellal sighed. "He'll know just what to say and what not to say based on what's going on in their heads."

"Then again, he's a prickly bastard… So…" Lucy paused and gave Cobra a critical eye, then sighed and shook her head. "He's just as likely to say the wrong thing just to piss someone off…"

Cobra grinned proudly and said, "Fucking right I am, Blondie."

"This is going to be a disaster," Jellal muttered to himself when Lucy and Cobra started arguing with each other. "A complete disaster…"

* * *

Twenty minutes went by before the tongue lashings between the Celestial mage and Poison Slayer finally came to a draw—something that had been the cause of both great concern and surprise for the other mages present.

Meredy had, of course, been over the moon at how she perceived the two to be getting along. Hoteye was still sulking slightly at Lucy's quick dismissal of himself as a potential candidate, and the fact that yet another person had called him that horrendous nickname—one whose origin he was still unclear on. Midnight had actually been able to stay awake to watch the show, sleepily commenting on their lack of popcorn. Jellal and Racer were completely confused as to just how Lucy hadn't managed to get herself attacked by Cobra when she repeatedly called his manhood into question—from his ability to please a woman to commenting on his possible preference for bestiality of the slithering variety. Angel was pleasantly surprised that Lucy was holding her own against him, and had quickly come to appreciate the sharp tongue her former enemy possessed.

"So, now that _that's_ finished…" Jellal carefully eyed the two silent mages that were glaring at each other, sitting side-by-side on a log around the long-dead fire pit. "We'll need to decide what their costumes will be."

"And how we're going to get _anything_ with less than a day's notice," Meredy added.

"In their sizes," Racer sighed.

"That also looks expensive enough for them to fit in with everyone else there," Angel finished with a huff.

"Couldn't we just go to some costume shop in a nearby town?"

"No, that wouldn't work. Maybe finding a seamstress?"

"For two outfits in a single day? Are you high?"

Lucy smiled and settled her chin in her hands, her elbows resting on her knees, as she watched everyone else start trying to figure out how they were going to go about getting everything that was needed. She knew that if she tried to throw in any input right then, no one would hear her. Especially since everyone else—herself, Cobra, and a slumbering Midnight excluded—was in the process of shouting over one another.

She had an idea, but it was a little weird. Besides, she wasn't used to actually feeling all that useful in a group, so she wasn't sure if it was alright to throw out another opinion. It wasn't like she had all the answers all the time. Things just really seemed to be in her favor that day. Sort of.

Cobra chuckled when he heard that Lucy had already figured out how to handle the predicament of finding costumes, and that she was simply enjoying the sight of everyone else huddled together. "Good choice," he whispered, smirking when she gave him a sideways glance. "Angel's about to start a fight with Jellal."

Lucy looked back over to the group, and threw a hand over her mouth to stifle her giggling fit when Angel quite literally tackled Jellal to the ground, shouting that he was an absolute idiot with no sense of style. Another soft chuckle drew her attention back to the one-eyed mage next to her. "Good call," she whispered back. "How about a play-by-play?"

Cobra raised his eyebrow at her, then leaned back on his hands with a small quirk to the corner of his lips. "Meredy's gonna jump in, dragging Hoteye down with her." He paused as Lucy watched the fight playing out exactly as he'd said, turning to look back at the dogpile on the ground with a shake of his head. "They all agree that Angel has a point, but no one's willing to admit it."

"Which is?"

"We're fucked," Cobra answered.

A shriek sounded out from somewhere in the pile, and Lucy smiled while she watched all of the flailing limbs. "Kinda reminds me of Fairy Tail," she said. "Fights like this used to break out all the time, just on a much larger scale since _everyone_ decided to get in on the action."

"Can't see your dainty ass jumping in on that shit."

"I never did, intentionally," she said. "Usually I would come in and get dragged into it, then claw my way out as quickly as possible."

"Or fly," Cobra chuckled.

"Shut up. Ass…" The pair sat in silence for a few more minutes until the fight finally ended with Jellal flying through the air and landing on the ground next to Lucy with a loud grunt. She rolled her eyes and helped him stand up. "I've got an idea," she whispered, looking into his deep brown eyes. "It might not work though, but I can at least ask."

She pulled out Virgo's key and summoned her loyal maid spirit, a large smile on her face when Virgo rose from her deep bow.

"Punishment, Princess?"

 _'Oh, please tell me she'll say yes today. Princess can bend me over that log and flog me. And people would be watching her do it! It would be so embarrassing to have people watch my punishment…'_

Cobra well and truly blanched while he looked at the crazed pink-haired maid. He hadn't been trying to listen in on her, and hadn't even realized it was possible since he'd never heard any of Angel's spirits years ago. He was definitely wishing those particular thoughts had stayed buried in Virgo's head, instead of filtering into his in full color images.

' _Stars, what I wouldn't give to have her tie me up and pour candle wax all over me. Yes, I definitely need punishment. I must not have arrived quickly enough, so it would be justified. And she could use her whip! Oh, her whip would be wonderful! She can beat the dirty thoughts right out of me. Please, Princess… Please say yes!'_

The spirit actually _wanted_ punishment. Like, no bullshit… She wanted Lucy to tie her ass down and whip the shit out of her. He chanced a glance at Lucy, trying to figure out how he had missed the ability for something so fucking twisted inside of her, and only found himself more confused.

 _'Always… Every time… Without fail. One time! I did it_ _ **one time**_ _because it was a special occasion for her, and I wanted to do something nice! Okay, afterwards was hot as hell… And I guess I liked seeing her crawling naked across the floor… And holy shit, is her tongue amazing… But, that's not the point! I'm not doing it!'_

Cobra blinked slowly, keeping his face devoid of any emotion that would give away his suddenly intense curiosity and—dare he say, arousal—at the glimmer of a memory from Lucy where she had apparently decided to experiment a little with another woman. Just the mention of her beating Virgo with anything made him sick to his stomach, but from what he could tell from digging a little deeper, it was only the maid getting bent over a coffee table and spanked. Nothing too perverse, and definitely not something he hadn't done himself while in the heat of the moment with a woman.

"No, Virgo. Not today," Lucy giggled, watching the excited twinkle leave Virgo's eyes. "I do need your help with a mission though. Cobra and I will be going undercover to a costume party. Do you think you'd be able to help us out?"

"Of course, Princess."

"Your spirits call you _Princess_?" Angel chuckled. "I thought you were all about loving them to pieces, and that they're your friends."

Virgo turned slowly and looked over the white-haired mage for a moment. "Princess refuses to let her spirits call her 'Master'. She does not necessarily like the current name we use for her, but she agrees to it, to make us happy. Which is yet another reason for her to be called a princess; she is kind and sweet, and cares for us deeply."

 _'Although, I really did enjoy getting to call her Mistress Lucy that day…'_

She paused and turned back to Lucy. "Princess, are you in need of assistance punishing the woman that harmed the others?"

Lucy's eyes widened, her jaw dropping in complete shock as she slowly shook her head. "Uh… No? Angel and I are in the same guild now, Virgo. We're friends. She's changed since she hurt Scorpio, Aries, and Gemini."

"How can you be so sure, Princess?"

"I can just tell," Lucy said with a sweet smile as she looked over at the stunned expression on Angel's face. "I'll talk with Loke about it later on, and he can decide for himself how we'll talk to the others about it, alright?"

Virgo bowed again. "Yes, Princess. Feel free to punish me for speaking out of turn."

Midnight slowly opened his eyes and frowned when he saw a pair of slender legs in front of him. He followed his way up only to get a fully uninhibited view of black leather boyshorts tightly hugging a woman's crotch, surrounded by white tulle, while Virgo bowed in front of him.

Racer chuckled and elbowed Hoteye, then nodded in the direction of the Reflector mage on the ground. "He's got a nosebleed again," he whispered.

Lucy pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "That's alright, Virgo. I'm not going to punish you."

"Very well."

"Alright," Lucy said, clapping her hands together in determination. "We need to _first_ figure out what the costumes are going to be, then we'll go from there."

"Well, it's a fairy tale theme," Meredy said. "So, what kinds of characters could we pull from those?"

"Aladdin and Jasmine."

"No," Cobra spat.

"Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White."

"Mm, no," Lucy said. "There will probably be a lot of those."

"Hansel and Gretel?"

"The Princess and the Pea."

"Thumbelina."

"Little Red Riding Hood!"

"The Snow Queen?"

"Robin Hood!"

Time after time, the ideas were shot down for one reason or another by either Cobra, Lucy, or both. Simultaneously. Along with a swift Lucy Kick to Midnight's head for suggesting the Three Little Pigs.

"What about Peter Pan and Tinkerbell?" Racer asked. He collapsed to the ground when Cobra delivered his response in the form of a fist to his gut.

"Oh! That could work!" Meredy giggled as she hid behind Jellal. "You've got pointy ears already!"

"I'm not wearing fucking tights, you little witch," Cobra growled. "Stop picturing it, or I'm going to poison you."

Just as Meredy started laughing even louder, and Cobra lunged forward to make a grab at her, Virgo grabbed the back of his collar and pulled him back to his previous position next to Lucy. "Might I make a suggestion, Princess?"

"Let go of me, or I'll—" Cobra started to say, only to suddenly stop when he heard a violent roar from Lucy's soul.

"Finish that sentence," Lucy hissed, "And I'll castrate you, Cobra. _No one_ threatens my spirits. Ever. Guild mate or not, I won't stand for it."

The group collectively shivered, a single name coming to mind for Jellal that he'd heard Erza mention before: Scary Lucy. It was apparently terrifying enough of a personality change to even cause Erza to quake in fear from what he'd heard, and it seemed that was also the case for Cobra. Well, maybe not _quaking_ , but it definitely made him shut up. That was different.

Cobra heard just how serious Lucy was about that castration shit, and that she was willing to enlist the help of _all_ of her spirits to get the job done, so he wisely gave her a short nod. Anyone else in the group wouldn't have been able to evoke even the slightest bit of fear in him, because no matter what they threatened each other with, Cobra was the only one that was actually willing to follow through on his threats of death and dismemberment.

As it turned out, Lucy was the same way deep down. She just had extremely specific stipulations for the level of depravity that Cobra enjoyed thinking about on a daily basis.

"Good," Lucy said. She turned to look up at Virgo. "You were saying, Virgo?"

"Beauty and the Beast," Virgo said as she turned to look at the rest of the group. "It suits them. Princess loves books fiercely and a yellow-gold gown would suit her well. Cobra..."

A bright peal of laughter left Lucy as she doubled over. "Virgo! You're a genius! Cobra's an asshole with pointy ears, just like the Beast! He's got tan skin, the Beast has brown fur. Did I mention he's an asshole?"

Cobra's eye narrowed at the giggling blonde, and he reached a hand out to roughly push her psychotic ass on the ground. Only for her to start laughing harder. "Fuck you too, Blondie," he growled.

"See?! Insufferable… Grumpy… Curmudgeony… Asshole!" Lucy bellowed between laughs.

Meredy threw a hand over her mouth to stifle her own laughter, as did Angel, but they both bit their lips when Cobra turned his malicious glare to them.

"I was going to say he would be best suited with a blue overcoat, as it would complement both his complexion and hair color," Virgo replied solemnly. "But, yes Princess. That is also an appropriate assessment. He should do well staying in character."

"I…" Cobra frowned at Virgo over his shoulder. "Don't know how to take that."

"It's a compliment, Cobra," Midnight yawned. "She said… You look good in blue…" Another long yawn. "And you're an asshole. You like it when people call you an asshole…"

Lucy sat up once her laughter subsided, then looked over at Virgo. "You already know my measurements, Virgo. You'll just need to get Cobra's."

"Measurements?" Cobra asked warily as the shackled spirit walked around the log to stand next to Lucy. "You're not fucking touching me, Chattel Junky."

Virgo crossed her hands over her apron and simply stared at the Poison Slayer. "Please stand up."

When Cobra stared right back at her, Jellal groaned in frustration. "Just do it already. There's still more we need to do before the day is out."

With a roll of his eye, Cobra stood to his feet and grumbled, "I'm poisoning your fucking food later, Slave Driver…"

"I heard that…"

"Good," Cobra answered with a dark chuckle.

"Please remove your coat," Virgo said.

Cobra let out a heavy sigh, pulling his coat off and holding it tightly in one hand. He turned to look at Virgo, wondering why she was still just standing there, and then his eye widened when he saw her eyes rake over him quickly.

She walked around him only once, staying several feet away and making him feel like he was a SE vehicle that was being put up for auction. He heard a series of numbers running through her head, and his jaw dropped when she stopped in front of Lucy again.

"I have what I need, Princess. Will you require anything else?"

Lucy hummed in thought, then turned to the rest of the group. "Beauty and the Beast is alright with you guys?" There was a round of confused nods from everyone, and Lucy dismissed Virgo back to the Spirit World with a smile and thanks.

"One thing though," Racer said awkwardly. "Uh, Belle's a brunette…"

"How the hell do _you_ know that?" Angel laughed, watching as Racer's cheeks tinted a deep pink.

"None of your business, Angel," Racer huffed.

Lucy smiled and placed a hand over her keys again. "Don't worry about that. I've got it all under control." It was actually rather nice to be able to help out this much. Maybe losing Fairy Tail in the war with Tartaros hadn't been a completely horrible thing. Maybe what she'd really needed was to find a place that actually needed her input, instead of a guild full of so many powerful mages.

After another long silence, Jellal looked at Lucy and said, "You... Had this all figured out from the beginning, didn't you?" Lucy smiled. "And, you didn't say anything sooner... because…"

"Because it was funny watching Angel tackle you to the ground and pull your hair," she said with a wide and slightly creepy grin.

* * *

 **I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter. There are several more to come in the next month leading up to CoLu Week, so be prepared.**


	2. 2015 - Beauty and the Beast, Part 2

**A/N: I'm so glad you guys are jazzed about this story being revamped. There's one more chapter after this one for the 2015 prompt, and then we'll be moving on to 2016.**

 _ **TARDISthruthefandom**_ **, this is getting posted early because your review just made my day. It's a whole lot easier to go through these already written stories and fix them up. It takes so much less time! I added a good deal to this chapter though, because there were some spots that really needed some fleshing out - especially considering what some of us know happened in the 2016 story with Cobra.**

* * *

 _ **2015 - Fairy Tale, Part 2**_

 _ **Beauty and the Beast**_

* * *

"I anticipate you will allow no harm to come to Lady Lucy this evening," Capricorn said as his enormous hands adjusted the cravat around Cobra's neck.

"It's a possibility," Cobra answered with a sneer. His hand lifted to pull at the suffocating little bit of fabric once the spirit turned around to grab his blue overcoat with gold accents. "Odds are fifty-fifty."

"I would suggest leaving it alone. You have only a few minutes left before you and Lady Lucy are to leave."

Cobra sighed and dropped his hand to his side. An entire hour had been spent in this little backwater motel on the outskirts of the town where the party was being held. Jellal, Racer, Hoteye, and Midnight had been laughing their asses off the entire time, holding a running commentary on every poke and prod he received from the large goat while he was getting _prepared for the evening_.

No matter how much fun it had been getting under Lucy's skin, and listening to how her mind worked while they insulted each other, wearing all of this frilly bullshit was killing a little part of him inside.

Capricorn turned around after brushing away any imagined dust particles from the garment, then slid it over Cobra's arms. He adjusted the sleeves of the shirt so the small fringe was sticking out of the ends of the jacket's sleeves, then took a step back and compared the mage in front of him with the picture Virgo gave him to ensure everything was in its proper place. Once he was satisfied, Capricorn gave a single nod. "It is finished. Please follow me. We shall meet with Lady Lucy in the lobby."

"Yeah yeah," Cobra groaned. "Wouldn't wanna keep her Royal Bustiness waiting..."

"Might I suggest attempting to be more civilized while you are in her presence this evening?"

"Cobra, civilized?" Jellal chuckled as he walked just behind the spirit with the others. "I don't think that's possible."

"Fuck you, Smurf," Cobra growled. "It's bad enough I've gotta wear all this bullshit."

"Maybe you should have just been a pirate," Midnight mused. "You're already missing an eye, and Captain Hook is a pirate."

"You couldn't have mentioned that earlier?" Cobra snarled. "I'd rather be dressed as a pirate missing a fucking hand than a butt-pirate in this frilly shit!"

"I'm pretty sure Captain Hook's outfit is red and pink," Jellal chuckled. "With more frills..."

"Shut up, Jellal," Midnight hissed. He scowled and smacked their guild master in the back of the head.

"And a feather in his hat," Hoteye added.

"With a creepy molester moustache, and a fear of crocodiles and clocks," Racer said with a low laugh.

"Still," Cobra huffed, "I could be a badass sea-warrior with an eye patch that's pillaging and laying waste to every ship in my path on the high seas. Instead, I'm dressed as some narcissistic twatwaffle in a puffy fucking shirt."

"I'm pretty sure Vikings were the ones pillaging and laying waste to things, Cobra," Jellal said with a grin. He sighed when he received another smack to the back of his head by Midnight.

"Oh, but Captain Hook wears tights," Midnight said. "And you don't want to wear tights, because they're _clearly_ offensive to your masculinity."

"I really don't feel like giving everyone a view of my cock and balls crammed into fucking spandex," Cobra shot back. "Trust me, it's not a pretty fucking picture if that shipping demon's imagination is anything to go by."

"It is my understanding that Captain Hook is missing only his hand," Capricorn interjected. "The concept of pirates wearing eye patches because they are missing an eye is actually a myth. More often than not, they wore an eye patch while preparing to raid another vessel. In the event they needed to fight below deck with little to no light, they would simply switch the eye patch to the previously uncovered eye, and their sight would already be adjusted to seeing in darkness."

Everyone was completely silent while they gaped at the goat spirit. "Well, I _am_ missing a fucking eye," Cobra muttered. "So, stereotype or not, I'd still be more badass with a goddamn eye patch."

They reached the deserted lobby and stood around in silence for several minutes, with Cobra glaring vehemently at the ground while they waited for the women to make their appearance. As the first stirrings of his other two female guild mates' voices drifted down the hall, Cobra lifted his gaze. Angel and Meredy walked around the corner, giggling like a pair of little schoolgirls, and came to stand with the rest of the group. Before anyone could ask where Lucy was, she came out into the lobby.

Lucy smiled at the stunned faces of the guys when they saw her, nervously tucking a stray hair behind her ear. She turned to look at Cobra and her eyes went wide when she saw just how good he looked. While she had known exactly what his outfit was going to look like, and had seen the movie often enough in her life to have it memorized anyway, that didn't change the fact that Cobra looked downright edible in that gold vest, white shirt and cravat, and black breeches. The black dress shoes were definitely smart improvisation on Virgo's part, since the Beast wasn't wearing shoes. His vibrant blue jacket with gold lapels and trim suited him just a little too well though.

 _'Well, I guess my panties are pointless now... Luckily there's enough fabric in this skirt to catch the waterfall my vagina just turned into... Fuck, he looks good enough to eat…'_

Cobra snorted when he saw the light flush to her cheeks that barely tinted them a shade darker than the light makeup she was wearing. Then again, his own thoughts held much the same sentiment when he saw her; just more along the lines of his pants being just a little too tight at this point.

Normally, he considered the ball gowns that high society women wore to be obnoxious and downright fucking ridiculous looking. Somehow Lucy just looked really fucking sexy. Her corset-cinched waist only accentuated the swell of her hips and breasts. The gold in her dress and elbow-length gloves made her eyes almost glow. What threw him off though was the fact that Lucy was now a brunette. It was weird as hell seeing her that way, and he was shocked to find out that he preferred her as a blonde.

It shouldn't have been too surprising though. He'd always had a thing for blondes.

"What?" Angel huffed as she looked at the Poison Slayer who, for his part, was glaring at some point on the ground that must have very clearly offended him.

Cobra raised his brow and looked over at Angel. "Don't worry about it, I doubt Midnight could handle another nosebleed."

"Dick," Midnight muttered.

"How did you get your hair to change color?" Jellal asked.

"Cancer," Lucy said with a smile. When the Heavenly Body mage blanched, she laughed. "No, I mean my _spirit_ , Cancer. He's the crab constellation. He does my hair and makeup when we're bored, but in battle he tends to distract people by cutting their hair, and then paralyzes them by hitting pressure points with his scissors... Or he just severs nerves altogether… I'm still not sure."

"You mean you don't know how he actually takes enemies down?" Angel asked with a chuckle. "I thought you would have asked him after we fought and I used our spirits' relationships with each other against you."

Lucy pouted. Oh, she'd taken a much more active interest in her spirits' lives after fighting against Angel all those years ago. She'd definitely learned her lesson that day. Besides, it was a bit of a sore spot that a Celestial mage who had abused her spirits had still known them better than Lucy, who claimed to love them like family.

"I _did_ ask," she said. "And he distracted me with the offer of a spa day. Loke says it's probably best that I don't know what he's actually doing, so I'm just leaving it alone."

"Well, we should get going, regardless," Jellal said as he looked out the window toward the setting sun. "You two head out first, take the long way there, and we'll be in position by the time you arrive. Racer, go ahead of everyone and sneak inside."

With a nod, the group split off from each other as they left the building, with Capricorn slipping something into Lucy's hand just before he disappeared back to the Celestial Realm.

* * *

Lucy and Cobra were still several minutes from the party, and had spent the majority of their walk through the scenic parts of town in complete silence. At least, they had been outwardly silent.

Through the entire trip, Lucy had been using Cobra's Soul Listening magic to their advantage, telling him about her spirits and their capabilities when it came to fighting. In the event they got into a fight, his knowledge of what they were capable of would come in handy if they were going to work together in any capacity. A warm breeze blew by, and Lucy sighed contentedly as much as she possibly could while her corset acted like a boa constrictor around her midsection.

"I don't know how you can stand that shit," Cobra finally said. "You can't fucking breathe, and your feet hurt already from your shoes. And that dress looks like it weighs a fucking ton."

"It does," Lucy giggled as she glanced at the scar on Cobra's face while he kept his eye trained on the road in front of them. "Just like everything else with this stupid party, it's what I was raised to do. Wearing corsets, cumbersome dresses, pinchy heels, and pretending I'm a little fragile China doll with only half a brain when it comes to the opposite sex is all just part of the package."

Cobra nodded slowly and glanced at her. "You look fucking weird with brown hair, by the way."

"You look weird dressed up in general," Lucy teased, grinning when she saw him grimace. "It's not _that_ bad, Cobra. It could be worse..."

"Yeah? How do you figure?"

" _You_ could be wearing the corset and heels," Lucy replied. She pictured Cobra wearing her outfit and he stumbled in his step. "Exactly. It could be _much_ worse."

"Cut that shit ou—" Cobra snarled when Lucy pictured him dressed up as a red-haired mermaid with sea shells covering his nipples. Hell fucking no, he was _not_ the Little goddamn Mermaid. Like he would be stupid enough to brush his hair with a fucking fork. "You're fucking twisted, you know that?"

"Yep, but that's what you like about me."

"I don't like _anything_ about you, Blondie..."

"Then why were you staring at my tits when you saw me?"

"Because you've got a serious set of tiggle bitties, and they're begging to be stared at."

"'Tiggle bitties'?" Lucy laughed.

"Knockers, fun bags, chesticles, sweater meat, jugs..." Cobra supplied. "Want me to keep going, Busty?"

"Yeah, actually I do," Lucy giggled. "But first... I've gotta give you something." She stopped as they came to an alley, and quickly dragged Cobra into it with her. As she turned around, Lucy pulled the items Capricorn had given her out from between her breasts where she had stored them for safekeeping.

"What's that?"

"A wedding ring," Lucy said. She looked down at the simple gold band with a bright red flush crossing her cheeks, then stiffly held it out in her palm for Cobra to take it from her.

"And _why_ would I need that?" Cobra's eye widened and his lip curled in disgust when he heard what she was about to say. "What in the actual fuck do you mean we're fucking acting like we're fucking married?!"

Lucy scowled and threw a hand over his mouth. She stepped closer and whispered, "Cobra, the easiest way to explain why you're my escort for this evening is the two of us being married. It gets you out of knowing anything about the bullshit backstory I gave to get the invitation, and it gets _me_ out of a majority of those assholes trying to hit on me more than necessary."

Cobra growled and slowly pulled her hand from his lips. "Don't you think you should have mentioned this shit sooner?" He was so focused on his anger that he didn't realize their fingers were still intertwined when their hands dropped between them.

"Probably," Lucy sighed. "But I kinda forgot about it after I put the rings in my super-secret hiding place."

"Wow… Just… Just fucking wow," What the hell was he supposed to do with that kind of response? After another moment, his eye narrowed. "Explain how being married gets us out of anything. We don't—well, _you_ don't know jack shit about me, while I know way too fucking much about you."

Lucy rolled her eyes at him. "If you and I aren't married as far as the guests concerned, then the only reason for you to escort me anywhere would be if you're also from the same real estate company. If that's the case, then they can rightfully ask you any question they want to. The guests are some of the richest and most powerful high rollers in Fiore, so they'll want to trip you up. It makes it easier on you if you don't have to listen to their asinine bullshit and focus on scouting out the guys we're looking for." Lucy paused and took a couple deep breaths, silently cursing the steel boning Virgo had sewn into the corset so it would maintain its shape better. The fact that she'd managed to get that out in one breath was definitely a new record for her, but damn was it hard.

Cobra slowly nodded.

"As far as my end of the night is concerned," she continued, "If I show up there with a man on my arm and no ring, I'll be labelled as a whore. I really don't give two shits what any of those pompous smegma junkies think about me, but I'll be bothered all night by guys that are just trying to get a piece because they'll think I'm a slut. Which means I'd be attached to your arm all night just to keep the more subdued ones at bay. And then I'd have to pretty much hide behind you and let you do all the talking if anyone got too handsy. _Plus_ , Lord Aurus will most likely try to get me to sleep with him tonight. That's the real reason he gave me the invitation."

"You're fucking kidding me, right?" Cobra asked. "So, you accepting the invitation is practically saying you're gonna fuck him."

That definitely explained why Lucy had been flirting with the old bastard to get the invitation, and why she had actually gotten so sick from the thought of it that she had vomited once they left the camp the day before.

And again that morning.

And a few hours before when she had started getting ready for the party. Hell, Cobra had wanted to puke just from seeing what he had to wear, but at least there wasn't some perverted geezer trying to fuck him.

"Right," Lucy said with a grimace. "Unless…"

Cobra sighed and rolled his eye. "Unless you're fucking married."

Lucy giggled and lifted the hand that was holding the wedding rings, then lightly tapped Cobra's nose. "Bingo!"

"Well, better get this shit over with then," Cobra sighed. When Lucy put her hand out to give him the ring, a devious grin spread across his face while he shook his head. "Oh, no… You're gonna have to _ask_ me to marry you, Blondie."

"I'm not proposing to you," Lucy hissed. "Just take the stupid ring, and let's go."

Cobra huffed dramatically and turned his head away from her, crossing his arms over his chest. "We won't be married unless you propose, Blondie. Down on one knee and everything."

"You…" Lucy nearly growled. Who the hell did he think he was, saying something like that? As if she would actually propose to him. She didn't even know him. Well, aside from the few snippets of the past few years that she'd picked up, or that she was actually a part of. But that really wasn't the type of person she would propose to. Cobra, for all that he was attractive, wasn't her type.

Then again, Lucy's type hadn't really pulled in any winners for her. And ever since the war with Tartaros, she'd just felt empty inside. Since sacrificing Aquarius… No, she couldn't think about that, or this whole thing would be a bust. She couldn't start crying right then.

After a solid minute of watching Cobra stand stone still, Lucy groaned in frustration. He was apparently a stubborn little shit. Based on the way his brow lifted, she was sure that was the case. He wasn't going to budge on it, which meant she needed to just propose and get it over with. They were already running behind as it was, so they could give the rest of the guild time to get in their positions at Lord Aurus' manor.

"Cobra, my dress will get messed up if I kneel right now…"

"Standing is fine, then," Cobra snipped.

"You're such a fucking woman." She looked at the slight tightening in the corner of his mouth from his poor attempt at hiding just how humorous he thought this was, then mumbled, "Will you marry me…"

"I didn't seem to catch that," Cobra chuckled, turning his head to look at the bright red flush on Lucy's cheeks as she stared at the ground.

"Cobra," Lucy said firmly, "Will—"

"Uh uh uh," Cobra tutted. "Erik."

"What?"

"Erik," Cobra repeated. "If you're gonna propose, you should use my real name. And say it like you fucking mean it. From the heart, Blondie."

His real name was Erik? That was… oddly fitting, somehow. She couldn't place why she thought that, but looking at the Poison Slayer and repeating his name in her head just seemed right. It suited him. And, oddly enough, she found herself smiling at the realization that he'd shared something like that with her so freely.

Lucy slowly lifted her gaze to the Poison Slayer's single indigo eye, then gently held both of his hands in hers while she took a step closer to him. She lightly nibbled her lower lip, watching as his eye narrowed.

"You mean the world to me, Erik," she whispered. "This crazy whirlwind romance we've found ourselves in has me so utterly enraptured with you. I don't think you realize just how deep my feelings for you truly run, but I'd love to spend the rest of our lives showing you in every imaginable way that my love for you is fathomless. I could use any number of cliché lines for this, but I already know what you want to hear me say."

Lucy smiled seductively up at him and pressed her body against his. She could swear she felt his fingers tighten around her own.

"I'll never let you forget just what it feels like to be loved, to feel me wrapped around you while I'm screaming your name every night. How my lips feel while I'm worshipping every single inch of your body, because you're a man that's more than deserving of my affection."

Cobra listened to her soul while she spoke, and grew even more confused when all he could get a read on was an image of an open book with entirely blank pages. He couldn't hear anything else aside from that, and her thoughts consisted of only what she was saying to him. Nothing more, nothing less.

"My heart and soul sings just for you with every breath I take, just as yours does for me. I want to be the harmony to your soul's melody forever." She paused and lifted a hand to his cheek, lightly brushing her thumb over the bottom portion of his scar. "Erik, would you do me the honor of becoming my husband?"

Cobra gulped while he was caught in her gaze, feeling her breath mingling with his own as her lips drew closer to his. The scent of lilies filled his sinuses, and he quickly licked at his suddenly dry lips. He'd just been screwing around about the whole thing. He definitely hadn't thought she would cave in so easily.

But she sounded so sincere. Regardless of what her soul was doing, her breath quivered with anticipation. Would he say yes? Would he laugh in her face and make her feel like an idiot? How the hell had she made his heart start pounding? When the fuck had her plump lips gotten so close to his that he could nearly taste her? Her wide, expressive eyes held him captive, and in that moment he realized that this was the first time she didn't look dead inside.

"Yeah," he whispered. "I can do that."

Lucy smiled softly and carefully the slid golden band on his ring finger without breaking eye contact. Once she'd put her own ring on over her glove, her eyes were alight with mischief as she giggled and drew back from the stunned Slayer.

Cobra quickly shook his head and gaped at the radiant woman that had somehow caused his brain to shut the fuck down. "What the hell was that shit you just pulled?"

"I proposed."

"No, that sappy eloquent bullshit that you pulled out of fuck only knows where," Cobra said in exasperation. "Your brain turned into a blank book on me… How the fuck did you—"

"I'm an author," Lucy answered with another laugh. "I made it up as I was going, and I was pretending that you and I were characters in a book that I had to write dialogue for."

"Fucking lunatic," Cobra grumbled with a roll of his eye.

He'd gotten exactly what he'd asked for, a proposal that sounded sincere and as though she had meant every goddamn mushy word of it. He quickly realized that what had thrown him off about her proposal, aside from her soul pulling that blank book shit on him, was the way she had felt pressed against him while she was speaking, and how Lucy had even incorporated his own fucking magic into it using the same sort of description he would have for a soul.

Souls manifested as images and thoughts, sure; but the root of it, the very core of who someone was, actually sounded like a song with melodies, harmonies, even modulations and counterpoints trilling through them. Some were full orchestral symphonies while others were merely a resonant vocal hum. It was astounding that anyone would have picked up on something like that, and all Cobra could do was wonder just how in the fuck Lucy knew it.

Maybe she knew more than she let on though, and damnit that just made him want her more than he already did.

After a moment, Lucy carefully stepped up to Cobra's side and placed her hand in the crook of his elbow, using her other hand to lift his arm into the proper position so they could continue on their way to the party. "Well, _Erik…_ What's my new last name?" she asked as they walked out of the alley.

"Huh?"

"Women usually take the last name of their husband," Lucy said. "If we're married, I'd take yours. So, what is it?"

"Don't have one. My name's Erik. That's it."

Lucy tilted her head to the side while she looked at him in confusion. Then again, there were plenty of people who didn't have last names for one reason or another. "Want mine then?" she asked.

"What?!"

"My last name," Lucy repeated. "Wanna be Erik Heartfilia? It's not like there's any family to be upset if you use it. They're all dead."

Cobra frowned and stared at her for a moment, then nodded. "Sure. For _tonight_ only."

"Alright," Lucy said with a smile as she looked down the road to see the enormous mansion they were walking toward, along with all of the flamboyant decorations lining the lawn. "You do realize that you'll need to call me by my _real_ name, right?"

"Not happening," Cobra chuckled. "What, you don't like 'Blondie'?"

"Not particularly," Lucy muttered. "I can't very well call you 'Cobra' in there, so I'll have to use your real name. You'll need to do the same thing."

"Fine," Cobra sighed. "This fucking sucks… You know that, right?"

"You have _no_ idea how much worse it's about to get… It shouldn't take you too long to see why I left this bullshit behind though."

"I already know," Cobra answered with a scowl. She'd been running through it all in her head since the day before. He'd had the great displeasure of hearing her nightmares of lonely halls and her father yelling at her for trying to get his attention. "And that is some of the most depressing shit I've ever heard. So stop thinking about it before I just slit my goddamn wrists right here."

"Ugh, you're such an asshole," Lucy hissed as they came closer to the open doorway. She reached down with her free hand and lifted her skirts so she could walk up the grand staircase that led to the mansion's entrance without breaking her neck. When she took her first step, she couldn't help but notice how Cobra slowed down and gave her a little extra support for their journey up to the door. "If we're married, then—"

"Yeah, yeah," Cobra huffed. "I've gotta at least pretend to like you."

"No," Lucy said, giggling when Cobra's head snapped over to look at her in confusion. "Marriages are usually financial transactions and contracts in high society. We can do this one of two ways without causing suspicion. Financial gain, or love. You choose. I will tell you that the first option means you can treat me however you want without anyone batting an eye, so you won't have to pretend you give a shit about me."

"You're fucking kidding me, right? What the hell is wrong with these people?"

"Choose quickly, Erik. We're almost there."

While neither of those options sounded particularly appealing, Cobra already knew how he would go about getting married if the opportunity ever arose—although he wasn't holding his breath on that one. "Love," he said. A genuine, rarely seen, smile pulled at his lips while he looked over to find her staring at him. "If I was gonna get married, I'd do it for love."

"That's… not the response I was expecting."

"Yeah, well… With my magic, it's not like that shit's gonna happen anyway," Cobra replied. "People are fucking disgusting deep down, or annoying as shit. Or both. Just a benefit of hearing someone's soul, I guess… I doubt I'd be able to fucking do it while constantly hearing just how fucked in the head someone is, but I'd _have_ to love whoever I married if I was gonna put up with their shit."

That was really what it all boiled down to for him. His magic always let him hear the worst in people, especially in women he might be interested in. He never pursued them because of it. They just sort of fell into his life for awhile, and then they were gone once he got tired of hearing just how depraved they were. But if he was really going to take that plunge, if he was really going to commit his life to someone else, then there wasn't a damn thing anyone could do about it. Mental stability issues aside, Cobra was loyal. He always had been. He hadn't found a woman yet who felt the same way about that, though. The day he did, nothing stop him from making her his. He wouldn't let someone like that slip through his fingers.

"Well, this means you'll have to act like you love me. You know that right?" Lucy asked softly. He nodded just enough for her to see it. "PDA is frowned upon. So, it's not like we'll have to worry about that. Although, you'll want to cut the swearing down to a minimum… Like, _none._ "

"Got it. Not making any promises," he chuckled. "But we'll see what happens."

Lucy took a deep breath once they reached the top of the stairs. _"Is Racer already inside?"_

Cobra sent his magic out and searched for the familiar buzzing sound that accompanied Racer's soul, then nodded again. "You ready?"

"No," Lucy whispered with a frown. Her eyes shot up to Cobra's face when he gently touched her gloved hand on his elbow, and she couldn't stop her cheeks from flaring to life when he grinned down at her. "Guess I'll just have to suck it up, huh?"

"Pretty fucking much, Blo—Lucy."

"A for effort," Lucy giggled as they made their way into the party.

* * *

An hour. One single fucking hour at that godforsaken party, and Cobra had an intimate understanding of just what Lucy meant by the night only getting worse. Even if he hadn't been able to hear what those around him were thinking—which ranged from men fantasizing about her in some seriously disgusting kinky shit, to women whose heads were filled with nothing but dresses and jewelry—the conversations he'd been forced into had been some of the most pointless bullshit he'd ever had to endure.

It was apparently one huge dick measuring contest where the men were concerned. The women all wanted to know how much money he came from, why he'd chosen Lucy of all people when her father's business failed nearly eight years ago, and how sure he was that he didn't want to ditch her and take them into a back room for a good fuck.

And the fucking costumes! He was suddenly extraordinarily thankful that he'd been adamant about his _no tights_ policy. He was the most normal fucking guy there, and it had everything to do with the fact that his dick wasn't being strangled by spandex.

Then there was the party's host. Lord Dumbass, as he had been quietly dubbed by Cobra—and whose nickname was cause for a happy giggling fit from Lucy when he'd whispered it to her as the man approached—was the most perverse and persistent bastard there was. The shitstack had all but openly told Lucy to go up to his office so his ancient ass could bang her brains out, and when she had refused and clutched herself tightly to Cobra's arm, it had somehow taken everything in the normally detached Slayer to suppress a wholly possessive growl.

Granted, the guy had been staring at Lucy's tits the entire time he was speaking to her, and had actually commented—out fucking loud—on the fact that he was glad that guild she was a part of had finally disbanded. Cobra was a great many horrible things, but even he had enough class to keep the comments about Fairy Tail to a minimum of exactly fucking zero. That bastard thought he was untouchable, but the way Lucy's soul wailed at the mention of her old guild, only to be intentionally squashed by her and shoved into some small box labelled _Do Not Ever Fucking Think About This Again_ and tucked into a dark corner of her psyche, just made Cobra angry.

Painfully angry. But he had to control himself, which only made him more pissed.

And now, here they were, explaining for the millionth time to the dumb fucksicle, their 'carefully crafted' history—a term he used very lightly, because they hadn't thought of it before getting to the party, and both of them had been making shit up on the fly all night.

"We met just after Fairy Tail was disbanded," Lucy said as she laid her head on Cobra's shoulder. "Before I started working for the real estate company in Crocus, I was waitressing in a small diner in Oshibana to save up some money and move to the capital."

"Yep," Cobra said with a smirk down at her. "I had just finished a mission for the mayor, and decided to grab a bite to eat before heading out of town. And there she was. All sunny smiles and beautiful, bright eyes. Lucy took my breath away, and I still haven't figured out how to get it back."

"You're such a sweetheart, Erik." Lucy blushed and giggled when his lips brushed across her forehead, and she looked back toward Lord Aurus. "One thing led to another, and we got married just last week. We'll be going on our honeymoon in a few days."

"And what did you say your last name was, young man?" Lord Aurus asked. "It's been going around that you actually took _her_ name…"

"I did," Cobra stated. "My family's name doesn't have the best history behind it, so I've distanced myself from it as much as possible by forgoing its use altogether. When we got married, she offered to give me her last name, and I accepted. Jude was a great man when he was still in his prime, so I'd rather be a Heartfilia than nameless altogether."

"I wouldn't say Jude was a _great_ man, necessarily," Lord Aurus chuckled. "If he was, then he would have accepted my offer to marry Lucy years ago before she got mixed up in that guild, and his business wouldn't have failed so miserably. It _is_ a shame that sweet wife of his died so suddenly."

 _'You stupid son-of-a-bitch. Don't talk about my fucking parents that way! You have no idea just how fucking close I am to ripping that stupid moustache off your goddamn face and making you eat it until you choke to death. So fucking lucky I have to stay undercover, or you'd be getting your ass handed to you right fucking now…'_

"She was quite the sight to behold at functions, and I can only assume she was a wonder behind closed doors."

' _No, Capricorn, just stay there. It's alright, you don't need to open your gate to punish him, Virgo. He's just saying that about Mama to get a rise out of me, and I won't let him win. Just relax, guys. I'm fine… And I'll be even better when I've pulled his bottom lip up over his shitty little pugface and stapled it to his fucking scrotum!'_

Cobra listened to Lucy's soul roar as though it was a caged animal just trying to break free. He heard the barest remnants of her spirits' voices while they tried to calm her down—something he found to be _really_ fucking creepy, since he hadn't known Celestial mages could communicate with their spirits that way—and even felt Lucy's grip on his arm tightening as the seconds ticked by. The never-ending well of pain from her past started overflowing, punctuated with the deepest sadness he'd ever encountered in a person. But instead of falling into a depressed little ball of tears like he would have expected, Lucy's anger surged forth from the depths of her soul, screeching like a fucking banshee.

He had to hand it to her, she had some impressive self-control, considering he would have already tackled Lord Dumbass and killed the shit out of the mouthy fuck if he was in her shoes.

"Don't you agree, Lucy?" Lord Aurus asked with a sickly sweet smile.

"I—" Lucy said, only to freeze when Cobra cut her off with a growl.

"I'm pretty sure the only one here that agrees with your arrogant bullshit is yourself," Cobra said, keeping his voice low enough that he didn't draw any attention to their conversation. "Think all you fucking want about how much better you are than everyone here, but don't…" He paused and leaned in just a little closer while a snarl pulled at his lip. "Don't _ever_ talk about my wife's family that way."

"Erik, stop," Lucy whispered while pulling on his arm. Well, she wasn't pulling all that hard. There was a pretty big part of her that wanted him to go full-Cobra on this asshole.

"Jude Heartfilia was one of the most intelligent and dedicated men I've ever met, and his business would never have failed in the first place if it wasn't for egotistical bastards like you that forced him into mountains of debt with your backwards ass contracts that actually cost him money when a marriage proposal was refused," Cobra said.

Was it his fault that, during that whole Infinity Clock thing, he'd gotten bored while searching through the Heartfilia Konzern, and had actually broken into Jude's safe that was tucked behind a portrait of him and his wife in the main hall? It was a pretty ingenious spot. No one would expect a person to put their most prized possessions right in front of the goddamn door. The safe in his office was empty, and seemed like it had been for some time. Same as the one in the master bedroom.

But Cobra had gotten a chance to read through the papers that had been hidden. The contracts that Jude had refused for Lucy's hand in marriage. If he'd read closely enough, Jude would have seen the fine print that fucked him over time and again before signing the refusals.

"And Layla," he continued. "How fucking _dare_ you talk about her that way? That woman was a goddamn angel, in every fucking sense of the word, and you should feel lucky that your pathetic ass was able to be in the same goddamn room as her. She was more than just a pretty face and huge tits."

Cobra had also gotten to look at Layla's diary while Midnight was creating Imitatia from that creepy little fucking doll of Lucy's. From what he'd read, Layla loved with all her heart. She constantly wrote in her diary about Lucy and Jude, about her spirits and how she hoped Lucy would become a mage. Worst of all though, was what he'd learned about her sacrificing her life to bring the Dragon Slayers from the past. She'd done it to save the world, apparently, and to save Lucy from carrying the burden of being a Heartfilia.

From what he'd read in that single book, Layla was the kind of woman he would fall for. Loyal to the ones she loved, willing to die for them. And most likely fucking insane, because who in their right mind would use their life to bring some brats from the fucking past?

"She was sweet and intelligent—more than anyone except Jude gave her credit for—and she her passing was a fucking travesty," Cobra finished.

"Clearly, you don't realize just who you're speaking to," Lord Aurus hissed.

"I know _exactly_ who the fuck I'm speaking to. You, on the other hand, have no goddamn clue who the fuck I am, you pompous sack of Vulcan jizz. So, if I hear even one more thought from you about Lucy—whether it's how you wanna stick that pathetic lump you call a dick between her tits and cum all over her face, her parents, or even what you're thinking _right now_ about how badly you want to call security and have my ass removed just so you can take her upstairs and do whatever the fuck you want with her—I will literally poison your whole family and then eat your goddamn face in front of everyone here."

"How _dare_ you—" Lord Aurus spat. His face paled when the maroon-haired man's lips curved into a terrifying, insane grin.

"I told you my family doesn't have the best history, but I never said I didn't help _make_ that history. You really don't want to find out what that is firsthand. Are we fucking clear?" When the little cockgoblin just kept vehemently shaking his head, his face growing redder by the second in his anger, Cobra let out a low growl.

"Erik, that's enough," Lucy said with a little more force. "Please…"

"Keep this shit up," he whispered, never taking his gaze from the noble. "Cause a fucking scene, and kick our asses out. I'll make sure everyone in the goddamn country knows about just how _young_ you like your whores to be, you twisted fuck. And where you send them when you're done using them. Don't fucking underestimate me, because I'm not above ruining your whole goddamn existence until you're begging me to fucking kill you. Now turn the fuck around, and go bother someone else. If I have to look at you much longer, I really am gonna eat your face."

Lucy's jaw dropped when Lord Aurus turned and hightailed it as far from them as he possibly could. She heard Cobra sigh, and slowly turned her head to look up at the familiar scowl on his face while he scanned the crowd. "You… didn't have to do that," she whispered shakily.

She was definitely curious how he had come to those conclusions about her parents, but decided to just leave it alone for the time being. There would be time for questions about that later.

"I did," Cobra said, his frown deepening. "Do you have any idea how high pitched your soul gets when someone talks shit about your family?"

"… No?"

"Too fucking high… And loud," Cobra said softly. He turned to look at Lucy's confused expression, and smirked. "Besides, what kind of husband would I be if I let some asshole think about my wife that way?"

It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he'd gotten genuinely fucking pissed over Lucy being upset. Nothing at all.

Her eyes widened and a deep blush rushed through her cheeks. "A pretty shitty one, I suppose," she finally said. "That doesn't mean you had to threaten him with cannibalism."

"Ah, but that's where you're mistaken," Cobra said. "In my experience, cannibalism is the most effective way of shutting people the fuck up."

"Touché," Lucy giggled. "Thanks, Erik… That was actually kind of sweet, in your own fucked up way."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Aww, don't play shy," Lucy crooned as they started making their rounds through the crowd again. "You're just a big ol' sweetheart under all of the grumpy faces and death threats."

"Nope."

"Liar."

"Watch it or I'll eat _your_ fucking face."

 _'I'd rather he eats something els—Oh, shut up brain!'_

Cobra smirked while he turned away to see if he could spot Racer somewhere in the crowd. _'Right there with you,'_ he thought.

* * *

"No. Absolutely not," Cobra sneered.

"We have to," Lucy insisted as the violins started playing a familiar tune. "It's part of being at one of these parties."

"Not. Fucking. Happening."

Lucy sighed and leaned closer to whisper in Cobra's pointed ear. "It'll be suspicious of we don't dance, Erik. Especially since that's what we're dressed up as."

"I fucking hate you..."

 _Tale as old as time  
True as it can be  
Barely even friends  
Then somebody bends  
Unexpectedly_

"Really? Of all the songs, you bastards chose this one?" Cobra spat quietly as he listened to the woman begin singing from beside the full fucking orchestra. Honestly, what the fuck was she trying to say?

Lucy laughed and shook her head. "Come on, Erik. Dance with me."

 _Just a little change  
Small to say the least  
Both a little scared  
Neither one prepared  
Beauty and the Beast_

Cobra's eye went wide when Lucy gently placed her hand in his, and he tried to pull it away only for her to grasp it even tighter than before. "Wait... I, uh... I don't know how to dance."

Lucy smiled sweetly and carefully pulled Cobra through the crowd with her as she led him to the dance floor. "It's not that hard. I'll teach you."

"You're so dead after this," he hissed. Why couldn't he get her to just let him go? He didn't want to fucking dance. Especially not in front of a bunch of pompous cockgoblins like these people. He wasn't lying though. Cobra had never danced in his life. He'd never wanted to, and even if he had, the opportunity had never come up.

 _Ever just the same  
Ever a surprise_

Cobra followed Lucy out into the center of the dance floor that was, of course, completely cleared of all the other partygoers. One glance around, and he realized that the other guests were surrounding the dance floor to watch him make an ass out of himself.

Oh, he was going to poison the first motherfucker who thought even one shitty thing. That was for sure.

Lucy smiled as she turned to face Cobra, and finally noticed the tension in his jaw that showed he was actually nervous. "Don't worry," she whispered and placed her right hand in his left, pulling it up into the proper position. As he gulped and looked from her hand up to her face, Lucy carefully took his right hand and settled it on the small of her back.

"Yeah? Why not?" Cobra whispered when Lucy looked up into his eye again and took a step closer. Her left hand lightly caressed his arm up to his shoulder, and it took everything in him to suppress a surprisingly arousing shiver.

"You'll see," she giggled as she started leading him in a slow circle around the dance floor.

 _Ever as before  
Ever just as sure  
As the sun will rise_

Cobra looked from his feet up to her face as they continued with their measured steps, and smirked when he saw the surprised, but no less pleased, look she gave him. Even without being able to hear her thoughts, he knew that he was throwing her for a loop by not stepping all over her feet. "Just keep thinking about what the fuck I'm supposed to do, and we'll make it through this shit without me killing everyone in here."

Lucy nodded and did as he said, playing over this exact scene from the movie when Belle had danced with the Beast, instead of just counting through the steps like she'd been doing before.

"Really?" Cobra snorted. "You've got the movie memorized?"

"Quit your bitching. This is helping you out, remember?" What she could only call a pout crossed his face for the briefest of moments, and all she could do was let out another soft laugh.

 _Tale as old as time  
Tune as old as song  
Bittersweet and strange  
Finding you can change  
Learning you were wrong_

After a few more turns, Cobra realized that they were doing the exact same steps over and over, and all he had to do was lead Lucy around the floor. He had seen people dancing before, just like this in fact, so a little inventiveness on his part paired with Lucy's own knowledge of dancing would make this a whole lot easier.

"I've got this shit," he chuckled. "You can stop watching movies in your head."

Lucy raised her eyebrow at Cobra as he grinned down at her and took the lead. He moved them in a slightly wider circle than before, sending her gown fanning out and a light laugh falling from her lips.

Cobra was actually a natural at leading.

With the slightest bit of pressure on her waist, Lucy blushed as she unfurled herself from him and glided effortlessly out to his left, her arm gracefully stretching out to her side and mirroring his right arm.

Cobra took a small step closer, then lifted their joined hands in the air and watched as she twirled in place with more refinement and grace than he thought was humanly possible. They slowly returned to their original position, with both mages unconsciously standing just a little closer than before as they looked deeply into each other's eyes.

 _Certain as the sun  
Rising in the east  
Tale as old as time_

Lucy let out a small squeak of alarm when Cobra's hands gripped her waist just before she was lifted into the air. Her hands drifted to his shoulders as he spun around, sending her gown fluttering gracefully through the air. Lucy giggled when she saw him openly smiling up at her, and felt her cheeks heating up while Cobra slowly lowered her to the ground again.

He really did have a nice smile, she realized. It had made an appearance only twice that night, but right then he looked as though he was actually enjoying himself.

Without thinking, Cobra pulled Lucy to his chest, and heard her breathing stutter as they started dancing again. "I am," he whispered.

Before he could even begin to lower his head and finally just kiss her, Lucy sighed happily and laid her head on his chest. Instead of lifting her chin up and doing what he really wanted to, Cobra simply nestled his nose in her pinned hair, taking in the unique lily scent that came from the woman in his arms while they continued dancing, and noticing there wasn't any residual chemical scent of hair dye from the change in her appearance.

 _Song as old as rhyme  
Beauty and the Beast_

* * *

"Did you know he could dance like that?" Meredy whispered with wide eyes as all of Crime Sorciere stood just outside, each of their faces pressed to the glass along the back wall of the mansion that gave them the perfect view of the dance floor.

"I didn't know he was capable of _smiling_ without looking like he's about to kill something," Angel said in wonder. "Well, except when Cubellios was still around..."

"Sure he can," Midnight yawned. "Cobra... Wait, what?!" His eyes shot open and he pressed his face to the glass again. He watched Cobra say something to Lucy only for the both of them to laugh. It wasn't his normal laugh either, not the one that sent chills down your spine and promised hours of being tormented by the psychotic bastard. No, this one was completely different. It was oddly reminiscent of the way he used to laugh when they were in the Tower and Cubellios would wriggle through his clothes to tickle him. "That's the scariest face I think he's ever made..."

"No kidding," Jellal whispered. "He looks _normal_..."

"How is that a bad thing, exactly?" Meredy asked. "They look like a cute couple that's totally in love!"

"Sure," Midnight nodded. "The only problem is... If Cobra can make that face at will, no one would realize he's got a screw loose."

"Not until he's standing over their nearly dead body," Jellal shuddered.

"That's true," Angel whispered. Her jaw dropped when Cobra twirled Lucy under his arm then lifted her into the air again. "It's almost sweet though... Oh, nevermind, he's staring at her chest."

"I don't blame him," Midnight said, wincing when both Angel and Meredy smacked him in the back of the head, causing his face to smack against the glass. "What? I'm just saying, her chest is right in front of his face!"

Jellal sighed and shook his head. "Midnight, we need to talk about these nosebleeds of yours."

"This one is their fault," Midnight grumbled as he felt to make sure his nose wasn't actually broken.

"Are you sure you're not just saying that to hide the fact that you're still thinking about Lucy's red lingerie from yesterday?" Hoteye chuckled.

A loud thud caused the guild members to pull their heads away from the glass and whirl around, ready to fight against the dark guild they were supposed to be searching for. When no immediate threat was found, they looked at each other in confusion, then down at the ground to see Midnight's eyes rolled back in his head while a steady stream of blood leaked from his nose.

"Okay, I was wrong," Jellal said, cringing. " _That_ is the creepiest smile I've ever seen in my life..."

Meredy laughed and turned back to look at the mages inside. A dreamy sigh escaped her as they practically floated across the dance floor with each other. Something in the corner of her eye caught her attention, and Meredy quickly turned only to drop to the ground, holding her stomach from bursting at the seams while she laughed.

"What is it?" Hoteye asked. His gaze followed Meredy's pointing finger to where Midnight had been standing previously, and he doubled over in laughter when he saw a clear imprint of the Reflector mage's makeup—from his white powder to his lipstick and even his eyeliner—on the glass.

* * *

 _Tale as old as time  
Song as old as rhyme  
Beauty and the Beast_

Lucy spun slowly under Cobra's arm, and looked up into the deep indigo eye that had held her captive through the entire dance. When she was pressed flush against his chest, her breath hitched as his hand left hers to drift across her bare shoulders.

Cobra had seen it done countless times, and while he'd previously thought it was cheesy and fucking dumb as hell, it just seemed like the right thing to do. He carefully dipped her voluptuous body down so Lucy was being cradled in his arms as the song came to an end, and found that the only sounds he could focus on while he looked at her were her racing heart, the fading music, and her soul.

There wasn't a whole lot going through Lucy's head at that point, aside from her own inner monologue of, _'Kiss me... Just fucking kiss me... Do it...'_ while Cobra held her above the ground.

She hadn't necessarily meant for him to hear her, and kind of forgot he could in the first place right then, but a small smile spread across her face when he chuckled softly and started to lower his head to hers. Lucy's eyes slid closed just as she felt his breath across her lips, her heart thundering loudly in her chest, and she lifted her left hand to his cheek.

A violent explosion shook the mansion just as Cobra was about to close that last millimeter of distance between their lips, and he quickly pulled Lucy to her feet when all of the windows running along the back wall shattered inward from the balcony.

' _Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck! I shouldn't have used that spell. Break all the goddamn windows, Midnight. It'll distract them, Midnight. Genius fucking plan, Midnight. Shit, was Meredy screaming just now? Oh, that's it, asshole. My makeup's smudged, and I'm going to destroy these bastards! Have some fucking nightmares, motherfuckers!'_

Cobra ignored Midnight's irate thoughts and quickly whirled in place, tucking Lucy into his chest to shield her from the raining shards of glass as the other party guests shrieked in terror. His thoughts had always been self-deprecating, but fucking hell. It had been a long time since hearing such a long string of curses from the Reflector mage.

"What's happening?" Lucy whispered urgently. She tried to wriggle free from Cobra's grip, and huffed when he held her tightly in place.

"Quit fucking squirming," Cobra growled. "I'm covered in glass, so chill the fuck out. Far as I can tell, they were outside." He slowly removed his arms from around Lucy's shoulders, then took a step back and shook the glass from his hair.

"You didn't have to do that, Erik," Lucy said with a scowl as they started making their way through the screaming guests. She couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes at the level of theatrics some of them were using for a simple cut on the cheek or a tear in their outfit.

"Yeah, well next time you're about to get your face and shit all cut up by glass, I'll be sure to jump _out_ of the way," Cobra shot back. He caught a group of mages dragging several guests away from the party on the edges of his hearing, and grabbed Lucy's hand, pulling her with him down a corridor. "C'mon. They've got it handled out there."

Lucy frowned and looked back to the main hall just in time to see the rest of Crime Sorciere jumping in through the shattered windows and rushing off to take out the other dark guild mages who zipped around the party, slashing at the socialites with daggers and swords and charring magic that sent one woman's head rolling across the floor. She roughly plowed right into Cobra's back when he suddenly stopped.

The ceiling collapsed right in front of them a moment later, blocking their path just as Cobra was about to send out an attack to take the group out quickly. "Fucking bullshit," he snarled. "It's gonna take too long for me to break through this."

"You can hear them, right?" Lucy asked as she quickly surveyed the impromptu blockade.

"Yeah, do you wanna call Virgo to break this down? They're heading downstairs." Suddenly, her insistence that he learn about her spirits' abilities wasn't such a bad idea.

"I could, but I've got a better idea. Follow me." Lucy let go of Cobra's hand and spun on her heel, then ran in the opposite direction until she reached a small, nearly unnoticeable door between two extravagant paintings. She lifted her skirt and took a step back, then gave the plain wooden obstacle a swift Lucy Kick that knocked it off its hinges.

"That explains why Meredy didn't want you to kick her again," Cobra chuckled. "Where are we headed?"

 _'Servants entrances run all over these places.'_ Lucy grinned back at the Poison Slayer. _'_ _All we need to do is find a staircase that leads down to the next level, then you can point us in the right direction.'_

"Look at you, Miss—" Cobra said, only to pause and pull Lucy to a dead stop just before she reached the end of the thin hallway they were running down. Not a moment later, three hulking men in black cloaks came rushing out of an adjacent hallway, and Cobra quickly channeled his Sound magic to amplify their thundering footsteps to take them out.

"Well, fuck..." Lucy panted. She winced when the corset kept her lungs from expanding as much as they needed to. "Your... magic is... pretty handy."

Cobra frowned when he heard how labored Lucy's breathing had become, but she just kept running as soon as she saw that the coast was clear. Just how the hell she was able to manage getting all of that damn fabric through the thin hallways, or make such sharp, quick turns in heels that were apparently—according to her inner tirade—squeezing her tighter than a prepubescent boy the first time he gets to second base, was far beyond Cobra's comprehension.

Just the simple fact that she was keeping all the bitching she was doing to herself and pushed past how uncomfortable she was, had the smallest sliver of respect for her blooming in him.

Another turn, then another. Finally, Lucy rounded one last corner and screamed in surprise as she ran right into a pencil thin man that was coming up a set of narrow stairs. He toppled over, dragging her with him, and Lucy wrapped her arms around her head while they plummeted to what she was assuming would be the place she died.

Cobra paused at the top of the stairs, and watched with no small amount of amusement as Lucy rolled down. He doubled over and cackled like a madman with each grunt and groan the guy she had inadvertently tackled let out.

They finally came to a stop at the bottom of the staircase, and Lucy lifted her head to apologize to what she had assumed was a servant, only to find a disgusting cretin of a man with oily brown hair and bright yellow serpent eyes staring up at her, a wide and malicious grin on his pockmarked face. She tried to pull herself away from him, then scowled when he trapped her arms at her sides.

"Well, hey pretty la—"

Cobra's laughter died in his throat when there was a masculine grunt followed by a loud crunching noise and a garbled scream, and then silence. He rushed down the stairs to see what he'd missed while he was effectively losing his shit over Lucy's sudden interest in tumbling, only to find her pulling herself to her feet and wiping blood from her forehead. "What the hell happened?"

"He wouldn't let me go, so I grabbed his balls and headbutted him... I apparently broke his nose." Lucy sighed as she adjusted her dress, then scowled down at the little fucker that passed out from the pain. She stepped on his nuts, then twisted her foot. Twice. "Creepy little fuck," she grumbled.

Cobra slowly picked his jaw up from the floor, then discreetly adjusted the sudden tent that had popped up in his pants before Lucy turned her scowling face to him. "You done manhandling his dick, or do you need a minute?" he asked blandly, only to snort when she turned and kicked the downed man between the legs.

Lucy nodded and said, " _Now_ I'm done. Lead the way, so we can find the rest of these guys."

Cobra sent his magic out and located the hostages, then grabbed Lucy's hand again and started running. It didn't take long for them to catch up to the five mages that were dragging three women down the hallway toward a large door at the end. Cobra chuckled and sent out a wave of poison to knock the guests out and startle the enemies.

The women collapsed to the ground in an instant, but Lucy was more focused on the five men that ditched them to run through the door. "I'm assuming you didn't kill them," she said as they vaulted over the prone bodies in gowns.

"Just knocked out." Cobra groaned in frustration when well over two dozen servants came rushing out of the room, and he shouldered past them as quickly as he could manage while keeping a firm grip on Lucy's hand so they wouldn't get separated.

' _I wonder how he'll want to handle the fight. Cobra could probably just take them all on his own, but I want to help. I have to prove that I belong with Crime Sorciere.'_

"We'll split them depending on where they're at," he said, sending her a wicked grin. "Don't worry, I don't plan on letting your ass sit this one out."

"Good," Lucy laughed. _'That's definitely different... The team never let me do anything on my own...'_

"That would be because they're fucking retarded. Now shut up and focus."

Lucy scowled at him as they reached the door. "You're talking more than I am," she hissed. When Cobra rolled his eye and opened his mouth to start arguing, she frowned and flicked his nose. Then had to stifle her laughter when he stared at her in shock.

Lucy silently motioned to the door, insisting that he take the lead, and took a step back when crimson tendrils of poison started leaking off of his hands.

* * *

 **This is obviously longer than the first chapter, but for those of you who have already read the older version of this story, I'm sure you understand why I cut it off here. I hope you like the little additions on how Cobra knew those things about Jude and Layla. I'd missed a really good opportunity the first time around by not going into detail on that.**


	3. 2015 - Beauty and the Beast, Part 3

**A/N: Gah, I'm so happy you guys are liking thing revamp. I'm having a lot of fun doing it too, and it's making me think I should go back through** _ **all**_ **of my stories and fix them up… Then again, if I did that, I'd never get any new content out lol. And then you all would kill me.**

 **But, this is the last chapter for the 2015 entry of this series. The next chapter will be the beginning of the 2016 entry. And, as a reminder, there** _ **will**_ **be a 2017 entry as well.**

* * *

 _ **2015 - Fairy Tale, Part 3**_

 _ **Beauty and the Beast**_

* * *

Cobra and Lucy rushed into the room, and the large door slammed shut behind them. Two men stood by a metal chute, trying to make their escape and fighting against gravity while doing it. The other three were spread out on the other side of what Lucy and Cobra quickly came to realize was a laundry room.

Several waist-high tables sat in neat rows in the center of the room for folding, with some a little lower that held irons and spray bottles filled with water. Four washing machines lined the back wall, and four dryers ran perpendicular to them along the other wall.

"Two or three?" Cobra asked.

"You take the three," Lucy answered. "You'll probably be done in no time."

"Now you're gettin' it," Cobra chuckled. "Try not to get your ass killed." He rushed off toward the three men and started throwing hit after hit at them. It was entirely their fault that he hadn't already gotten to feel Lucy's plump lips pressed against his, and as the perpetrators of his agitation, they needed to suffer a little more than just getting knocked out right away from a single hit with his magic.

Surprisingly enough, he had gotten paired up with some mildly competent mages. He took a glance over to where Lucy was fighting only to see her sneering defiantly as her opponents backed her into a corner. One hand pressed against her ribs where the boning on her corset looked as though it had been bent inward.

"This is fucking bullshit," Lucy spat. There was just way too much damn fabric in her ten million layers of skirts. She could hardly dodge attacks properly with how constricting and rigid her corset was, and that was _before_ one of the guys she was facing decided to punch her in the ribs. She was pretty sure it broke his hand in the process when his fist connected with the steel boning, but now it was just painful for her to even breathe.

It wasn't as though she really needed to have the dress in the first place, since her keys and whip were attached to garters on her thighs. Garters, she might add, that she had _no way_ of getting to because of the damn skirt.

Cobra decided to finish his fight off quickly just in case Lucy couldn't handle her own. It wasn't that he thought she was an incompetent mage by any means, more that she wasn't exactly dressed appropriately for fighting. That much had been clear before they had even gotten to the party.

It had been less than a minute since he had chanced a look in her direction by the time he was nearly done, so when he turned back to see how it was going, Cobra was thoroughly surprised to see Lucy in nothing more than a pair of gold heels, sheer cream colored stockings topped with gold garters, a gold and white lace thong and her corset. Well, not for much longer since as soon as his gaze finally reached her hips, the corset was flying off into the room to reveal a gold and white strapless bra. _'Holy fucking hell… That. Is. Amazing,'_ he thought.

"Look at that, the hottie's giving us a free show!"

"Aw, you think I'm hot?" Lucy cooed, cocking her hip out to one side and striking a sexy pose with her hand resting on one of the tables. She forced a giggle out when the two men nodded, then chuckled darkly as she grabbed an iron that had been left on and tackled one of the men to the ground. "How hot am I now?" she asked with a sneer, raising the appliance into the air and cracking him across the head with it. She lifted the iron up and turned the dial on the top, then cackled while bringing the still scorching iron to the man's face. "Fucking _steamy_!" she shouted.

Cobra busted out laughing, then ducked when the last enemy he was supposed to be focusing on tried to sucker punch him. "Oh, the irony!" he shouted back to Lucy, grinning when there was a bright peal of laughter from across the room. Two swift kicks, one to the gut and one to the chin, had the final guy down for the count. Well, then he just needed to kill them. If Jellal wasn't around to tell him not to, then he could easily say it was an occupational hazard.

Right then, he didn't feel like getting his hands dirty though. So, he did it the easy way, and the more boring way, and simply let some very potent poison drift from his fingertips right into their eyes. The fast absorption was definitely worth it, time-wise, and being able to see their eyes shriveling in the sockets was just a bonus. But he was done with his own work for the time being, which meant Cobra was going to sit his happy ass back and see what Lucy was going to do next.

He'd been curious to see what kind of fighter she had evolved into since her fight against Angel nearly eight years prior—that had given him hours of entertainment while he laughed at length over the white-haired swan princess' humiliating defeat—and he was definitely enjoying just how inventive she seemed to be.

Lucy quickly rolled off of the now unconscious and crispy man, then started dodging attacks left and right from what she later realized was the only enemy left in the room. A dagger slashed across her arm as she ducked beneath a table and crawled to the other side. When she stood up again, she saw a bright green cardboard box a few tables away that could really come in handy. With her goal firmly in place, Lucy dove over the table beside her, then rolled under the one after that. She stood up only to find herself face to face with the hate-filled sneer of the far-too-fast bastard, her eyes widening as she brought a closed fist to her chest.

"P-Please… Don't hurt me…" she whimpered.

Cobra raised an eyebrow at that. He could hear what she had planned, but the fact that she was so easily able to sound like a fucking stereotypical damsel in distress was slightly unnerving. The slight quiver in her voice was something he was accustomed to hearing while he was attacking people, something he still loved to hear even to that day. Upon closer inspection, Lucy had even managed to replicate a truly terrified shiver in her limbs, in the way her heel stuttered across the tile floor while she tried to take a step away from the man. There were fake tears shining in her wide honey eyes, her lips trembled as though she was moments away from hysterics.

All in all, she was a damn good actress, but Cobra had the feeling that it wasn't so much acting as it was pulling from her past experiences. Lucy let out an ear-piercing shriek when the man flipped the table that stood between them, quickly backing herself up into the table behind her as he stalked forward.

 _'Five, four, three, two, one.'_

Cobra grinned when her fearful expression disappeared and gave way to what had to be, hands down, the sexiest and most sadistic grin he'd ever seen on a woman. She brought her fisted hand up to her lips and opened it just as the enemy mage was one step away from her. Then she blew the powdered laundry detergent that she'd grabbed right into his eyes.

The man clawed at his eyes, trying to dislodge the gritty chemical compounds before he went blind, and Lucy reached down and pulled her whip from its home on her garter. She poured a small amount of magic into the weapon and grinned when the glowing blue stream filled with brilliant golden sparkles lashed out and wrapped around his neck. With a simple flick of her wrist, he went flying across the room and into the laundry chute. The only downside was the amount of force that he ended up hitting the metal lining with caused it to shake and groan until the bottom plate of the chute collapsed under his weight, sending his limp body plummeting down to what Lucy hoped was the basement, and not some secret passage into a forbidden realm of unending darkness.

"That…" Cobra walked over to the chute and peered into the black abyss below. "Has got to be the most insane shit I've ever heard in my life. Does your brain always throw out random fucking metaphors for shit, or is that an occasional occurrence?"

Lucy shrugged and coiled her whip, placing it back on her garter for safekeeping. "It's fifty-fifty, I guess." She paused and laughed when Cobra turned to look at her. "You know, all we need is some candy, a couple snakes, and a ladder. Then this will be the best party ever!"

"Really?" Cobra deadpanned. She simply laughed, and it only grew as the seconds ticked by. "A literal interpretation of Chutes and Ladders. _That's_ where you just went with this?"

He couldn't really hold back his laughter though when she started recreating the board game in her head. It was both far too realistic, and far too goddamn hilarious not to laugh when Midnight was used as a replacement for one of the snakes, just sleeping the day away until someone—namely Hoteye—was unlucky enough to fall down the chute that led to his gaping maw. The candy Lucy had mentioned, he quickly realized, was because the woman had a sweet tooth like no other, and apparently envisioned getting a piece of candy as a reward for every ladder climbed on their way to freedom.

After their laughter had settled down, Cobra's eye raked over Lucy's lingerie-clad body, sending heat flaring in his veins when he looked back up to see a light blush on her cheeks. "You weren't kidding about people seeing your underwear all the time..."

Lucy rolled her eyes and hopped up onto one of the tables to rest her feet for a bit. There was no point in trying to hide herself when this was the _second_ time in forty-eight hours that the Poison Slayer had seen her in just her unmentionables, and she was against putting that damn corset back on so soon. She just wanted a minute to _breathe_.

"No, I wasn't," she said. "But this time I took my _own_ clothes off for a change... Usually they're getting burnt, or torn, or frozen, or blown away, sliced off, shredded to bits and pieces..."

Cobra grinned and added, "Or you walk out of a tent…"

"Right," Lucy said with a nod. "Then there was that pervy ass dragon that decided he only like eating _naked_ people. Lemme tell you, flying over Crocus butt naked was both wholly liberating and a moment worthy of shitting my pants."

"If you'd had any, you mean," Cobra offered, chuckling when Lucy nodded again. "So, you're just planning on sitting here for a bit without covering up?"

"Pretty much," Lucy said with a cheeky grin. She kicked her feet back and forth in the hopes that she could get them to stop swelling. Or hurting. At least for a couple minutes. "You're not complaining, so it must not be _that_ bad."

Cobra shrugged. "Could be worse... You could be Midnight wearing all that shit..." He watched as Lucy blanched while she pictured Midnight in her lingerie, and it quickly descended into him very easily fitting into The Rocky Horror Picture Show. "Exactly... That... Was a weird time in his life apparently..."

He was very glad that Midnight had gotten out of that phase though. Finding him rummaging through Angel's wardrobe in the Oracion Seis compound when she'd first gotten out of training bras was actually cause for quite a bit of concern. Mainly because Cobra knew that if the thirteen year old Angel had found him, Midnight would have been smeared across the side of the building.

When they were fifteen, he'd actually had to listen to Midnight's running commentary on wishing the lace bra and panty set he'd bought for himself looked better. Thankfully, he'd given up on the lingerie and stuck with the makeup.

"Explains the boa…"

"Lipstick, too," Cobra said as he walked over to the door, only to find that it was apparently stuck. Lucy appeared to be in the middle of thoroughly enjoying the lack of her cumbersome outfit, so he shrugged and walked back over to the table she was sitting on, then hopped up to sit next to her.

Her gaze drifted over to the men that Cobra had killed.

 _'Y'know… I should just fucking kiss him and get it over with already. I've been wanting him to do it ever since we left the hotel… And we were so damn close earlier…'_

Not one to be outdone, Cobra quickly leaned over to finally get that damn kiss. The only problem was that the moment he'd chosen to do it, Lucy shifted and shot forward as well, causing the two of them to headbutt each other. Cobra pulled back in surprise and chuckled while Lucy blushed and rubbed the small pink spot of her forehead. "Well, that's one way to use your head."

Lucy's blush deepened, a small giggle bubbling up from her throat. She leaned forward again for take two of this godforsaken kiss only for Cobra to grab her face just before their noses smashed together.

"Just stop fucking moving, or this shit's never gonna happen," Cobra chuckled. When Lucy nodded, with her bright red cheeks pinched together and giving her a little fishy face, Cobra shook his head with a smirk and slowly loosened his grip on her. His hand slid over her jaw, and he cupped the back of her neck while he finally closed the distance between them.

It had been a while since the he'd felt a woman's lips pressed against his, and the breathy moan that spilled from her as his tongue brushed across the seam of her lips suddenly had him hard as a rock. Granted, he knew it wouldn't take much to get him to that point, considering he'd been watching her sexy ass fighting in lingerie.

Lucy's lips parted only slightly, her tongue hesitantly sliding out to meet with his. Just that first touch had her taking in a sharp breath, her hands sifting through his hair and shocking her with just how damn soft it was. That definitely wasn't something she'd been expecting. It wasn't something she could dwell on, however, when Cobra's tongue plunged between her lips while he carefully leaned her back onto the table. She slowly pulled her legs up from dangling over the edge, whimpering when he shifted to settle himself between them as he nipped at her lower lip. A very prominent bulge in his pants pressed against her, and Lucy moaned and grabbed the lapels of his jacket to pull well-hidden muscles flush against her.

Cobra propped himself on one elbow, his free hand slowly gliding down from her neck to tentatively cup one full, barely covered breast that had looked oh-so tempting while being held in that golden corset. The fact that her soul started damn near purring while she arched into his touch was enough to send a low groan rumbling through him.

Lucy was fully aware of just how little she knew about Cobra—aside from her own personal experience where some of his criminal tendencies were concerned—but she had always had a thing for men that could make her laugh.

Sure, his sense of humor was very clearly ten kinds of fucked up, but he wasn't an idiot that couldn't handle trading insults. In fact, he was probably one of the best at that particular pastime of hers that she'd ever met.

Rationally, Lucy knew her willingness to suddenly rip off his clothing to satiate her lust was due to hormones, the building sexual tension of the night, and the fact that the way he kissed and caressed her was absolutely dizzying. The emotional side of her had decided to pop up and start throwing out all of the things he'd done in just forty-eight hours that had made her heart melt or flutter; how he'd stood up for her earlier in the night, the way he hadn't completely ogled her when she'd accidentally walked out of her tent in her underwear, even the way he hadn't interfered in her fight even though he could just have finished everyone in the room off with one blast from his magic.

And then the way he had looked at her while they were dancing. There was that smile of his that had completely surprised her by its appearance, how his hands felt while they were gripping her waist, and—

"You think too much," Cobra whispered between kisses.

"So… _Mmm_ … I've been told," Lucy moaned. Her eyes rolled back as his thumb brushed across her nipple, and Lucy wrapped her legs around his hips and pulled him even closer.

Cobra groaned as she forced his arousal to grind against her, and his hand slid down to lightly grasp her hip while he rocked into her again. "Shit," he growled softly when Lucy pushed her hands beneath his jacket and slid it quickly down his arms. He shifted slightly and pulled the blue and gold fabric off, throwing it into the room before pulling her into a sitting position so he could get the rest of his clothes off more easily.

He couldn't stop kissing her now that he'd had a taste. She was sinful and sweet, and so damn addicting. Fuck, he wanted her more than ever.

Her mind and soul practically screamed at him to just tear everything to shreds and fuck her senseless, but just for good measure… "Tell me yes," he whispered.

"What?"

Cobra pulled back from the kiss to look into her lust-darkened eyes, his cock twitching when he saw how swollen her lips were as she tried to catch her breath. "I can hear what you want, but I want you to tell me."

"Oh… Well, yeah. I figured it was pretty obvious considering I'm making out with you in my underwear on a laundry room table, with a bunch of dead guys lying on the floor. Then there's the fact that my panties are fucking _soaked_ … So, yeah. I want you to bang my brains out."

A wicked grin spread across Cobra's face as he reached forward and popped the clasp on the front of her bra, catching the lacy material as it fell and tossing it behind him. "Never pegged you for being into bestiality," he teased. So she knew they were dead, and she didn't mind it one bit. That was definitely a tick in his favor then.

"Well, I'm into you, so I guess I am," Lucy rasped just before he dove down to kiss her again. She quickly unbuttoned his vest, then untucked his shirt and started to undo the buttons from the bottom, and giggled when she reached the top while Cobra was still trying to untie his cravat. She pulled away to ask if he wanted any help, and ended up falling back on the table when she saw the bewildered expression on his face. "H-How…" She laughed, her arms wrapping around her stomach to try and hold herself together. "How did you… tangle everything up?"

"Not a damn clue," Cobra muttered. "I do know this fucking thing..." He paused to carefully gesture to the cravat that was stuck to the side of his head. "... Is stuck on my earring. Also, it's trying to suffocate me."

"Here, I'll help you," Lucy said as her giggles subsided. She carefully sat up and gave Cobra a pointed look while he openly stared at her chest. She watched as he slid the gold vest down his arms and threw it off the side of the table. "Something caught your interest there?"

"Yep," Cobra answered, licking his lips and slowly looking back into her eyes. "Those perky tits of yours. They're begging for some attention."

"Well, get on it lazy ass," Lucy shot back. She carefully pulled the the cravat away from the side of his face until she got to his earring. "I'm not gonna feel _myself_ up. Now, lemme show you how to get undressed properly."

Cobra chuckled and let his hands glide over her dangerously tiny waist and up to cup her breasts. When she paused in her careful removal of—as he would forever call it—the _Cravat of Doom_ , he raised an eyebrow at her. "Properly, huh? Aren't your pinkies supposed to be up?"

Lucy nibbled on her lip, a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth when his thumbs brushed over her nipples. "That's… only for tea," she whispered shakily.

"Need a teabag then?" he asked when she pulled the silky monstrosity from around his neck, only to gape at her when the feisty woman stuffed it into his mouth.

Lucy's back arched when Cobra growled and teased her breasts with more purpose, making her laughter at the face he'd made die down in an instant. "N-No, but… if any of these guys wakes up, have at it. I'm sure they'd love to get a taste of your toxic testicles."

Cobra snorted and turned his head to the side to spit out the cravat, then leaned forward and closed his mouth over the dusky tip that was begging for some affection. He groaned when she cried out as his tongue drew tight circles over her, his thumb mimicking the motion on her other breast.

Lucy shakily unbuttoned his shirt the rest of the way and tried to push it down his shoulders, only to find that Cobra was highly against removing his hands from her chest in favor of taking his shirt off. "Fuck, E-Erik," she moaned. Her hands slid down his bare chest to the buckle on his belt.

A low growl vibrated through him and into her chest, and Lucy started frantically pulling at the strip of leather to try and loosen it from the metal bastard that was keeping it in place. By some miracle, the belt disintegrated completely, and Lucy drew back when she heard Cobra chuckling.

"It's no miracle," he rasped as he forced her back down onto the table. "That thing has been pissing me off all night. Little bit of poison goes a long way."

She watched with rapt attention when his hands finally lifted from her chest to pull his shirt off, baring lean muscles and utterly fucking delicious looking caramel skin that had her mouth well and truly watering. Her eyes raked over him, taking in every perfectly defined cut in his muscles, the thin strip of maroon hair that led from just below his navel and down beneath his pants, his narrow hips, and then all the way back up to see a well-earned cocky grin on his face.

"You good?" Cobra chuckled. "Because I can give you another—"

Lucy brought one hand up to tangle in his hair, pulling him down and crashing their lips together while the other lowered to the band of his pants. The quick shift and tug of material, the ripple of a zipper, twin moans when her dainty gloved hand pushed past his boxers and greedily wrapped around his aching shaft. Cobra heard loud and fucking clear what she wanted, just how desperately everything in Lucy was screaming for him to take her right then, and he couldn't agree with her more.

Lucy really couldn't remember feeling like this ever before. Sure, she had been turned on by men, had her fair share of them in her bed even, but there was just something about Cobra in particular that had turned her into a ravenous beast, and she really couldn't care less what it was. Not when she had him quite literally in her grasp.

Cobra groaned when she started stroking him. Her silk glove gliding so effortlessly over his arousal had his hands shooting down to pull his clothes off the rest of the way. Maneuvering with his head being held in place while Lucy fully dominated his mouth with her tongue—something he hadn't realized would turn him on as much as it was—was more than a little awkward. Luckily, after several pathetically failed attempts, he was able to kick everything off. Not a moment after the soft thud of his clothing hitting the floor sounded through the room, his shoes followed right behind it. He probably should have kicked the shoes off first instead of letting them get caught in his pants, but that didn't matter all that much.

"Gloves," he growled, a long moan barreling through him when Lucy harshly bit down on his lip. It felt way too good. How the hell had he not known that she would be this feisty? But he wanted to feel her actual hand on his cock, not the smooth material that was in the process of stealing his breath away. "Get those fucking gloves off."

Lucy was burning up from within, her sex clenching excitedly at the sounds coming from the Slayer on top of her. She pulled her right hand back and put her fingers to her mouth, using her teeth to yank the gold glove from her and tossing it as far away as she could manage.

Cobra kissed and sucked his way down her throat, growling when the hand in his hair tightened almost painfully and pulled him closer. He rocked his hips against her lace-covered sex, marveling at just how drenched her panties were. "Shit, you weren't kidding about having a waterfall between your legs," he rasped as the tips of his pointed teeth lightly scraped over her throat. "We should get these off of you."

"It's your fault... _Fuck_... For turning me on this much."

His fingers hooked into her panties, teasing her sex with quick brushes of his knuckles. Just the faintest touch at her entrance from his fingertips had her legs spreading wider, her hips tilting to invite the calloused digits to send her soaring. He was just about to push two fingers into her when a pained groan sounded off a short distance away from them. Her eyes shot open when Cobra went completely still, a low growl that was entirely different—but no less panty-dropping than the others—rumbling through him.

"Seriously?" Cobra snarled when he saw the guy Lucy had burned with an iron rolling onto his side with a hand to his face.

Lucy scowled and propped herself up on her elbows. "Oh, hell no. This is _not_ fucking happening right now." She pushed Cobra up just a little further, holding onto his shoulder with one hand while she reached down and grabbed the cord for an iron that was still plugged in and was, she belatedly realized, far too close to her hair for comfort. It didn't really matter to her if the damn thing was on. It just needed to be heavy.

She used the cord as though she had been trained in iron-fighting for years, spinning the appliance faster and faster until she lashed out at the barely conscious fucker. Cobra's eye followed every movement, his ears picked up every sound. A loud thud when the iron hit its target. Sizzling flesh followed by a strangled cry of pain, and since that particular appliance had been used for heavy duty laundry, it was much hotter than the last one she'd used.

Cobra glanced back as the iron slid off of the unlucky bastard's face, taking a decent bit of bubbling, melted flesh with it, then slowly turned to see that Lucy was waiting for the fucker to start moving again. "Wow," Cobra chuckled, "You really like ironing..."

"I figured I'd help get rid of his wrinkles," Lucy shot back. "Also, if we get interrupted again, I'm liable to kill something." She squeaked in alarm when she was pinned to the table again, and before she could say anything, Cobra's mouth slanted roughly over hers. Her hands dropped to her hips and she lifted herself to slide the lace down her legs, only for a loud moan to escape her when Cobra snarled and quickly slammed his waiting fingers into her. "Wait... _Nnngh_... My... My underwear."

"Fuck your underwear."

"That's fucking disgusting..."

Cobra chuckled and scissored his fingers when she pictured walking in on him in the bathroom with several pairs of her panties wrapped around his dick like some creepy fashionista pocket pussy. "That's not what I meant at all."

Lucy's eyes rolled back when he started moving faster. "I know… But… It could have been…"

"Not in a million fucking years."

"I don't know that. You…" Lucy let out a quivering moan when his fingers withdrew, but she still found it in herself to smirk up at him and whisper, "You could be a total closet perv."

"Son of a bitch..." Cobra cackled. He just couldn't help it. He was horny and more than ready to fuck her brains out, but then she had to go and say something like that. There was really only one way to get him to laugh uncontrollably, and that was with puns. no matter how shitty they were. "Goddamnit, that's… That's not fucking f-funny!"

"Then why are you laughing?" Lucy nearly screeched, turning her head away from him and pressing her lips to his shoulder to try and stifle her laughter even a little bit. She couldn't even begin to understand what had come over her. There she was with a deliciously dangerous paragon of masculinity, ready to lose herself in hormones, and jokes started flying out. "Did you figure out how to pull off your next successful panty raid?"

"I swear, if you don't fucking st—OH MY GOD, WOMAN!" How Cobra was able to stay hard through it all was beyond him, especially when Lucy started picturing several dozen chibi-Cobras sneaking into her tent at night with miniature torches and pitchforks. Each and every single one was wearing a single night-vision monocle with a small green laser attachment on it. Those tiny versions of himself made their way to her bag, then stacked themselves on top of each other while one climbed up the rest like a ladder, dove headfirst into the bag and popped up a moment later with black lace on his head and a creepy fucking smile on his face. The chibi-Cobras systematically emptied Lucy's bag of every slip of lace, silk, or satin lingerie in an assembly line, then snuck out with her imaginary sleeping self being none the wiser.

"Why?" he chuckled. "Why is it I wanna fuck the funny one?" Leave it to him to find the one woman out there that was quick with an insult, sharp enough to have some damn good wordplay going, and an imagination that was far too vivid for him to ignore.

"Because—" Lucy tried to say only to giggle when Cobra threw a hand over her mouth. _"I know you can hear me like this too, Erik."_

"If you plan on getting my dick in you any time tonight, then you'll have to stop making my ass laugh so goddamn hard." Cobra grinned when Lucy whimpered, the sudden realization that he was entirely right hitting her like an out of control SE vehicle. "That's what I thought."

Her eyes flashed with excitement while she parted her lips and teased his palm with the tip of her tongue drawing slow circles. A slow and seductive grin spread across her flushed face, her tongue following his hand as he pulled it away from her. She lifted her bare hand and brought it to his, tilting her head back until his fingertips brushed over her lips.

His breath hitched as she ran her tongue over the pads of his fingers, and her eyes fluttered closed when a bittersweet flavor burst across her taste buds, reminding her of the darkest and richest chocolate she'd ever had—sinful, delicious, and utterly deadly if not handled properly.

His cock was begging to replace his fingers when Lucy pulled them into her mouth, her devastatingly dexterous tongue sliding between them and curling up and over the tops as she withdrew. She sucked gently at his fingertips, then twisted her tongue and greedily swallowed them whole. He gasped as her gloved hand trailed from one hip to the other, moving lower and lower until she brushed over his arousal. His hips surged forward over her sex, the lace still covering her adding more friction that contrasted so heavily with the fabric that his breath stuttered and his body quaked.

A long moan vibrated through her lips while his fingers teased the back of her tongue, and he finally found the ability to hold his weight on his knees. His free hand ghosted over her chest, down her stomach, and finally landed at the lace between her legs as his mouth descended on the valley between her breasts.

Lucy whimpered when Cobra gave her sex only a single, feather-light touch before he was shakily pulling down her panties. Thank god he wasn't going to tease her anymore. Joking out of the way, she felt her desire swelling more quickly than ever before until she was flushed and desperate. Until her body trembled under the simplest touch.

A deep, rumbling growl sounded in the room as he started sucking on the skin over her sternum—just low enough that her dress and cleavage would hide it completely—and Lucy lifted her hips to help the flimsy material slide down more easily. Her hips met with the table again, and Lucy pulled her knees up closer to her chest while moaning around his fingers.

"Fucking hell," Cobra groaned as he tried to shimmy the lace down her legs. He was mere seconds from shredding the shit, but he was also pretty sure Lucy wanted to have something covering her when they walked out of this room. "Where the fuck… did you learn how to do that?"

Lucy giggled and pulled his fingers from her mouth, circling her lips with them. "Lollipops are _wonderful_ things, Erik. I love candy."

Cobra chuckled softly when she winked at him, and pulled the lace down the last stretch of her long, slender legs. Of course, the fucking thing snagged on her shoe. "Someone out there hates me…"

Lucy lifted her head and peered down to see Cobra trying to take off her shoe, then kicked his foot away. "No fucking way. If these satanic shoes come off, there's no way in hell I'm putting them back on. And there's fucking glass out there…"

"I would say I'd carry you, but…" Cobra quirked his lips. "We both know that's not fucking happening."

"You're truly a gentleman," Lucy deadpanned.

"Goddamn right, I am," Cobra said.

"Just fucking tear the stupid things off," she sighed. "Burn them, disintegrate them. I really don't care at this point."

"Don't need to tell me twice," Cobra growled with a wicked grin. He fisted the flimsy material and ripped it in one quick motion. He tossed it away and was instantly pulled into a steamy kiss. Her legs wrapped around his hips, and he growled when her heels dug into his thighs as she pulled him closer, forcing him—although he really didn't need much in the way of persuasion—to grind against her dripping sex. "Son of a… Fuck…" he moaned as she parted around his throbbing length, the short patch of hair just above her sex teasing his cock with each pass over her.

"Erik, if you don't fuck me right _now_ , I'm going to kill you…"

"No foreplay, huh?" He definitely thought they'd had enough for the time being. Any other time, he wouldn't have even considered getting his pants off until she was already a quivering, post-orgasmic mess.

"Hell no. Next time, I expect all the foreplay in the world. But, right now…" Lucy leaned up and licked the shell of Cobra's ear, grinning when his breath stuttered. "I need you inside of me, Erik."

"Shit," Cobra growled, pulling his hips back to line himself up at her entrance. Her breath gently puffed out across his ear, and he slowly turned his head to capture her lips as he pushed forward.

Lucy's eyes widened, and she scrambled away from Cobra with a high-pitched squeak of alarm. "Wrong hole! Wrong hole!"

Cobra smirked and quickly grabbed Lucy's arms when her spastic flailing almost sent her catapulting off of the table, pulling her back over to her original position. "I'm not picky," he said with a shrug.

"Well, I am!" Lucy hissed. "Fucking asshole…"

Cobra grinned, brushing her hair from her eyes and running his nose against hers. "That's apparently what I was trying to do. But you went all falsetto on my ass like a teenage boy in the opera. You scream like a girl, by the way..."

Lucy giggled and rolled her eyes at him. "Erik, I _am_ a girl. Not a damn castrato…"

"Well, I'd hope so, Lucy," Cobra whispered as he reached down and brushed his flared head over her sex. "Otherwise, I'd wonder why you've got this…"

Lucy's eyes rolled back when Cobra filled her in one slow stroke, the thickness of his shaft stretching her further than she'd ever experienced before. "Fuck, Erik…" Her breath stuttered and a small whimper crawled up her throat as he rocked his hips and pushed even deeper until his pelvis was pressed tightly to hers.

She'd never felt so damn full in her life, and found her body struggling to accommodate him. Her eyes shot open when he growled above her, and Lucy suddenly saw the tension in his jaw while he held himself in place.

"Holy shit, you're tight," Cobra groaned, slowly pulling his hips back and feeling every inch of Lucy's sex rippling around him. While he couldn't remember the last time he'd taken the time to get himself a piece of ass, this was better than anything he'd ever felt before. Not just how tightly she gripped him, or how her core rippled around him as he started moving with long, slow strokes into her.

Lucy also had a fucking gorgeous body that he couldn't help but admire. Her skin was like the finest silk against him, even softer than the glove that was still on her left hand. Every touch from her trembling hands on his shoulders, chest, back, and even his neck and jaw, the sweetest poison he'd ever encountered. The scent of her arousal grew thick in the air, so thick he could practically taste is with each breath he took. It gave the normally soothing lily aroma that wafted off of her a darker, more sensual tinge that called to him in ways he hadn't known possible. It was a potent shot of venom that rippled pleasure through him again and again.

The long strokes became shorter and shorter, his hips rolling each time he was buried in her sex. While Lucy enjoyed a little dirty talk from time to time, she quickly realized that Cobra's vocabulary withered down to a few whispered curses, her name, and a series of grunts and growls. There was no husky groaning in her ear about how good she felt, how wet she was, or what he wanted to do to her. Simply sharp teeth that nipped at her flesh. A tongue that ravaged her and made her lightheaded. Rough hands that kneaded her supple flesh as though he couldn't get enough. She didn't need words to know he was enjoying himself—and definitely couldn't articulate any of her own when he grabbed her hips and started pounding into her without warning. She couldn't even really try to control just how loudly she was moaning, but that only seemed to make more of that beast inside of the Poison Slayer surface.

"Shit… Oh, shit Lucy…" Cobra growled and his hands sliding under her thighs, spreading her legs further while he pistoned into her soaking depths. Her nails dug into the scars on his back, and his lip curled into a vicious snarl while the table groaned beneath them at the punishing pace he had taken. Her soul echoed her own screams of pleasure, washing over him in wave after wave of ecstasy as she neared her climax.

Lucy whimpered when Cobra's mouth slanted over hers, his teeth grazing her lips while he moved more frantically than before. She writhed beneath him, rolled her hips in time with his powerful, bone-shaking thrusts. It seemed that she didn't even need to scream out just how hard and fast she wanted him to move, since the thought had barely managed to form in her head before Cobra did just what she wanted.

 _'Oh, I fucking love his magic…'_

Cobra's eye went wide when there was a series of loud cracks that shot through the air, and he stilled completely just before the table's legs snapped. He and Lucy fell to the ground right along with the table, their lips separating from the lusty kiss to stare at each other in shock.

Lucy blinked, then looked around to see that the table Cobra had been using as an altar of mind-blowing sex had apparently been incapable of bearing such a heavy burden. The fucking thing was splintered around them, even the smooth top Lucy's back was occasionally pressed against—when she wasn't busy arching herself into him—was completely ruined. If it was any other day, she probably would have screamed in horror at what had happened, or scrambled away from the wreckage to ensure she didn't have to deal with splinters on her ass.

As it was, and probably because it just seemed to be the kind of night they were having, Lucy and Cobra both ended up laughing, even though he was still buried deep within her. "This is… ridiculous!" she panted.

"Pretty much," Cobra agreed with another chuckle. His arms barred around her waist, pulling her slender and supple body flush against him, and he slowly lifted her into his lap. Once she was steady, Cobra grinned up at the once-blonde woman, then turned and laid himself down where she had previously been.

"What are you doing?" Lucy asked, nibbling her lip while she slowly started grinding herself on him.

"Being a gentleman," Cobra groaned as his hands smoothed over her thigh-high stockings, over the strap that held her keys on one leg and her whip on the other, and settled on her perfectly rounded ass.

"But you're a beast."

"You wanna lay in fucking splinters? Be my guest."

Lucy giggled and slid her hands over his chest as she leaned down, brushing her lips across his. "No, Erik. I just want you to keep fucking me like the beast you are," she rasped. His hips twitched, pulling a soft moan from her, and Lucy slowly sat up with a devious grin on her face. She lifted herself slowly and slammed back down, her head tilting back when Cobra bucked beneath her.

Again and again, he met her rolling hips, his hands pulling her down more insistently onto his length and forcing every wanton and guttural moan past her lips.

Cobra slid one hand around her hip, and his eye rolled back when Lucy's sex began tightening around him as he started teasing the sweet little bundle of nerves between her legs. Any time he had been with a woman in the past, they hadn't used his real name—since he never told them what it was—and hearing how the vixen that was blowing his mind right then was so openly screaming it in pure pleasure had a deep growl echoing through him.

Maybe it was just how the night had gone so far, the fact that Lucy had continued finding ways to surprise him, or even that she had been able to make him laugh so damn much that was making him turn into the wild beast that his costume had implied he was. Or maybe it was just because he wanted to let loose with her.

Whatever the reason was for the vast difference in how he treated Lucy in the sack, he didn't really give a shit. Her soul was begging for it, practically getting down on its knees and downright pleading with him to lose control and fuck her until her brain melted and she could no longer move. Normally, Cobra tried to tune out what the deeper parts of a woman's soul were whispering to him, but Lucy's wasn't whispering in the slightest. It wheedled its way in, forcing itself to be heard by him, and he found himself willingly bending to her every whim.

Lucy leaned down and roughly sucked a small portion of the skin on Cobra's neck into her mouth, moaning loudly when he held her hips in place and started pistoning into her from below. Faster and faster, until she was only able to hold onto him as tightly as possible and pray to whatever deity was out there that she wouldn't be quite literally split in half. She kissed her way up his neck, over his jaw, and started lightly sucking on the pointed tip of his ear, shuddering when he moaned even louder than before.

A wicked grin settled itself on her lips when she realized that she had probably found one of the most sensitive spots on him when she bit down and he slammed her down onto him with a low growl, rocking deeper without missing a beat or slowing down in the slightest.

"God, yes," Cobra growled, his eye rolling back when her bare hand slid up and started teasing the opposite ear in time with that devilish tongue of hers. "Fuck, Lucy… Oh, _fuck…_ "

He gripped her hips and roughly pushed her down onto his swelling length, grinning when her lips left his ear and a strangled moan escaped her. He knew just as well as she did that she was going to have bruises from where he was holding onto her, but instead of her being pissed about it, that twisted little knot of darkness inside of her came roaring to life and reveled in the rough treatment. She apparently secretly fucking loved it, and damn it all if that didn't bring Cobra right to the edge along with her.

Lucy's climax was so close she could taste it, and she quickly propped herself up on her hands and looked deeply into the half-lidded amethyst eye that watched her every move. Both of their movements suddenly became frantic. Every noise that spilled from the pair was punctuated with a loud smack of flesh. It was becoming harder and harder to even pull air in with the way her body had tightened up, the tension in every single muscle mounting as it was pulled into the carnal vortex in her center.

His name was the only word to pass her lips by that point, a little two-syllable mantra that went from being guttural moans and screams to high pitched whispers between one stroke and the next.

If he still had both of them, Cobra's eyes would have crossed with just how fucking wonderful Lucy felt while she teetered on the edge of her release. He grinned when her arms began trembling, eventually giving out so her elbows were propping her up as her fingers sifted through his hair. Instead of being hooded with lust, Cobra found that Lucy's eyes were wide almost as though she was surprised by what was happening

 _'Oh god, I'm gonna cum so hard. Fuck, he really is a sexy fucking beast. That growling is so sexy, I bet he could get me off just by doing that in my ear!'_

He hadn't realized that he'd been the one making that sound until he heard how much she enjoyed it. But if that was what she wanted, then he would gladly catapult her over the edge into bliss. When he felt himself just about to burst, having held back as long as humanly possible, Cobra lifted his head and bit down on her earlobe while he let out a long and feral growl.

He speared into her one last time as that growl zipped through her and unlocked the chains that had been holding her release at bay. The deep rumbling in Cobra's chest intensified until he was roaring with the first shot of his hot liquid into her, and Lucy screamed his name, shooting right up into the heavens with it. She clutched herself tightly to him, moaning when his arms wrapped around her waist and hips to keep her wildly bucking hips in place.

A wicked grin pulled at the corners of his mouth when Lucy whimpered against his neck. He rocked his hips one last time, shivering when Lucy's whole body rippled with pleasure. One thing he hadn't been expecting was for her soul to turn into a goddamn choir of angels when she finally crested that peak, but he wasn't going to complain since that had to be the best reaction he'd ever gotten.

"That," he panted, slowly turning his head and chuckling when he saw the lazy and fully sated smile pulling at Lucy's swollen lips, "Was hot as hell."

"You're welcome," Lucy shot back, giggling breathlessly. "I aim to please, oh great Beast."

"I've noticed," Cobra chuckled. His hands smoothed over her back, and one continued moving up to carefully lift her head from his shoulder. "You've got one _very_ pleased Beast, Lucy." He kissed her slowly, not even trying to decipher just why he hadn't pushed her off and gotten dressed already—and reasoned that it was because she just felt way too goddamn good right where she was at.

 _'Damn,'_ Lucy thought as Cobra's thumb lightly danced across her jaw while they kissed, _'I never would have thought he could kiss like this…'_ She moaned when he nipped at her lower lip as he pulled back to give her a raised brow, and Lucy felt her cheeks growing hotter the longer he looked at her.

"I'm full of surprises. You'll see," Cobra answered with a smirk.

"Don't most of them involve maiming?"

"That's beside the point."

Lucy laughed when he gave her a feral grin that she knew was meant to scare the bejeezus out of her. "Alright, _aside_ from maiming, what other tricks do you have up your sleeve?"

"Not telling," Cobra chuckled, the hand on her back still moving in slow circles. "Then it wouldn't be a surprise." Damn, he just didn't want her to move. He wanted Lucy to stay right where she was, clutching herself to him, anchoring herself on Earthland with his body. He didn't want the look in her eyes to disappear. She looked so fucking happy, it would make a saint weep. He was far from a saint, but damn it all he just wanted that smile to always turn his way.

Lucy hummed and kissed Cobra one more time before carefully crawling off of his lap and collapsing next to him. "We should probably get back out there and see what's going on," she said with a sigh."Once my legs start working..."

"Probably..." Cobra laughed. "I'll grab our shit, you start figuring out how to walk again." When Lucy giggled, he sat up and groaned when she pulled him into a short kiss. He didn't want to pull away from those delicious little fucking lips of hers, but the last thing he wanted was for the rest of their guild mates to come barging in and getting an uninhibited view of his junk… Or Lucy's body, for that matter. The thought struck him as odd, but he was a greedy little shit when he found something he liked. And holy fucking hell did he like her body. More than her body. He wanted to keep her all to himself.

Lucy bit her lips to stifle her laughter when she saw where some of their clothing had landed. Her bra had landed on one guy's head, Cobra's boxers were in another's mouth. His vest hung off of a washer, with his shirt on the ground a few feet away, and his jacket was somehow draped over a lamp above the table next to where she sat.

She wasn't entirely surprised by the scars running all over Cobra's back and wrists while she watched him moving around, since she had felt most of them while the table was still in one piece. Based on the crosshatched pattern that was etched into his back, she could only assume he'd been tortured with a whip. She wasn't sure why that would have happened though. The ones on his wrists, on the other hand, she had no idea how he would have gotten those.

"Shackles," Cobra said as he carried their clothing back over to where Lucy was sitting. When she looked at him in confusion, he lifted his free hand and nodded toward his wrist while he picked up his pants from the pile of clothing. "You figured out my back, but you couldn't figure out my wrists. Usually it's the other way around."

Lucy nodded, taking Cobra's hand when he held it out for her and slowly standing up only to be pulled into his chest. She pulled his wrist up to see the two-inch wide scar running around it, then smiled and tenderly kissed the slightly less tanned skin. She felt him flinch slightly, but he relaxed a moment later when she started running the tip of her nose back and forth across the underside of his wrist.

Why would he have been in shackles? And why the hell would he have so many whip scars on his back? It almost made her think he'd been a slave at some point, but that just couldn't be right. Cobra would never be a slave. He was too strong to be locked up like that.

"Nope, not talking about it," Cobra said. It really took everything in him to not glare at her and ruin the calm that had fallen over them. "That shit's way too fucking heavy for post-coital conversation."

Lucy pursed her lips defiantly, then figured it was better to just leave it alone. Maybe she could talk to him about it another time, but based on how tense he'd become in a matter of seconds, she wasn't going to hold her breath. It probably wasn't something he told anyone in the first place. It wasn't like he owed her an explanation anyway. They barely knew each other, and her curiosity was probably just going to ruin things.

"Maybe I'll tell you sometime," Cobra said. He pulled his pants up while Lucy put her bra back on, then chuckled when she decided that she was going to help him get dressed.

"You don't have to," she muttered while grabbing his shirt from the pile and slipping it over his hands. She bit her lips when his scars were covered. She'd wanted to keep looking at them, but that was definitely the worst idea ever. Because looking would mean touching, and touching would lead to questions.

"I know," he whispered. His finger hooked under her chin, forcing her to look up at him. They were silent for a moment, with both simply looking into each other's eyes. In his peripherals he could see several sections of her hair had come loose from the pins holding them back, giving her strange blonde streaks while the rest was still brown. "Just not right now, okay?"

"Alright," Lucy said. She could understand it. It really was the worst possible time to think about asking him something like that. Damn her and her curiosity. He pressed a tender kiss to the corner of her lips, snapping Lucy back to reality. With a timid smile, she buttoned up his shirt, then picked up his vest while he left the shirt untucked and fastened his pants.

 _'It's a shame to cover up all that sexiness.'_

Cobra smirked, ignored fastening the buttons on the gold vest. There was really no point in getting himself put back together entirely. The mission was done. "Yeah, you're not the only one thinking that," he replied, his eyes raking over her still mostly naked body.

"Oh?" Lucy asked as she picked up the cravat, only to pause and laugh when Cobra growled and threw it across the room as though it had been trying to murder him.

"I fucking _hate_ that thing," he sneered.

Lucy shrugged and started putting on her millions of layers of skirts after adjusting her garters. And then she realized that she hadn't taken her keys or whip off of her along with the rest of her clothes while they were on the table. She'd gotten so used to them being strapped to her legs that night, she'd actually had sex with them on. And Cobra hadn't seemed to mind it one bit.

"See?" Cobra whispered petulantly while glaring at the fabric covering her. He watched with no small amount of wonder when Lucy laid her corset on the table and started forcing the bent boning back into its proper shape. "Fucking crying shame…"

Lucy smiled and wrapped the corset around herself with the back portion sitting in front so she could adjust the laces that would cinch it together again. She slowly turned it to its proper position, then gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Lace me up, and we'll get out of here."

"I don't know how to do this shit," Cobra grunted. His eyebrow raised in amusement when she leaned over and grabbed onto the edge of the table he was leaning against. "Am I gonna be fucking you again? Because that's what this looks like, and I'm pretty sure that's something I can handle."

"No," Lucy laughed. "It's just like tying a shoe, except you tighten it from top to bottom until the fabric on both sides is touching, and you can't see my back between the laces."

"And you're holding onto the table… because?"

"Because you're gonna have to pull really fucking hard, and I'll need to brace myself," Lucy replied with a grin. "Years ago, the maids used to hold me down just to tighten it enough. Sometimes they would even have to use their foot for leverage."

"You're fucking kidding me…" Cobra couldn't suppress his laughter when a memory of hers popped up, showing Lucy as a young teenager with one maid sitting on her shoulders, one sitting on her ass, and a third standing over the prone girl on the bed while she yanked on the laces for her corset. "That's fucking twisted…"

"Well, lucky for me, Virgo's strong enough to just tighten it without torturing me. But I don't feel like calling her out just to get this thing back on."

Cobra nodded, then watched in amazement as Lucy let all of the air in her lungs out, taking shallow breaths that were wholly unhealthy, while he started tightening the corset.

"Tighter," Lucy whispered.

"You're serious about that?" he asked, his jaw dropping when Lucy nodded. Cobra shook his head and pulled, surprising himself when he winced as she let out a small whimper. When he was halfway down the length of the constricting article of clothing, he said, "You know... We're gonna have to do this again _without_ all of the crazy bumbling bullshit..."

"Aww... But a bumbling Erik is absolutely adorable!"

Cobra growled and yanked on the laces, smirking when the air rushed out of her lungs and she turned to glare at him. "Shut it, Blondie."

"What, no more 'Lucy'?" she asked, her lower lip pushing out into a playful pout.

Cobra tied the laces once he reached the bottom, then watched as she carefully tucked them into the back of her skirt after putting her other glove back on. Before Lucy could turn around, he chuckled and pulled her flush against his chest, grinning as he lightly nibbled on her ear. "Nope, not Lucy. Maybe I'll call you…" He paused and hummed in thought. "Belle."

Lucy felt her cheeks warming in a deep blush, and shivered when she felt his breath dance across her neck. She slowly turned in his arms, and slid her hands up the lapels of his open jacket, finally stopping once her fingers sifted through the sweat-dampened roots of his hair. "Belle, huh?" she whispered.

Cobra nodded, his eye closing when her gloved fingers lightly dragged across his scalp. "I don't call anyone by their real name, in case you haven't noticed. Or even the names we got from Brain. Besides... I _am_ the Beast after all." When he heard Lucy mentally agreeing wholeheartedly with his statement, and thinking about what had just happened on the remains of that destroyed table a few feet away, he gave her a cheeky grin.

Lucy narrowed her eyes at him. "But he gets the girl in the end when she kisses him, and then he's _not_ a beast anymore."

"Yeah, well this isn't a fucking story," Cobra chuckled. "You kiss the Beast, he's still gonna be a goddamn beast. Less likely to bite your face off, though."

"Well, that's a plus!" Lucy chirped. She sighed happily as she brought her lips to his in a chaste kiss and slowly pulled away, following Cobra when he started leading her to the door. She glanced down to see the gold band on his finger, then blushed and looked away. "You know, you don't have to wear that ring anymore. The mission's done."

Cobra smirked and draped his arm over her shoulders, pulling her just a little closer while they stepped over the mage Lucy had thoroughly abused with an iron. "Why would I do something like that when you gave me such a heartfelt proposal? I nearly fucking cried, it was so goddamn beautiful."

"Take the ring off," Lucy said with a frown. "We're not engaged _or_ married."

Cobra gasped dramatically, feigning offense as he stared down at her. "But… You proposed… Are you calling it off now?" he asked, forcing his voice to quiver as though he was close to tears. _'Eat your fucking heart out, Meryl!'_

Lucy shook her head and rolled her eyes when Cobra started laughing. Leave it to the lunatic next to her to find fake proposals absolutely hilarious. "You're fucking insane, y'know that?"

Cobra's laughter died down in an instant, and a wicked grin spread across his face as they reached the door to the room. He quickly spun her around, pinning the petite woman to it with his hips and growling softly when her arousal spiked. His head dipped down until their noses were touching, his hands lightly gripping her tightly bound waist. "I never said I was sane, Belle. You're engaged to a fucking psychopath."

"We're not enga—" Lucy moaned when Cobra cut her off with another growl as he closed the distance between them. She was already panting by the time his tongue plunged between her lips, but she didn't care if she passed out completely from oxygen deprivation. He was just too damn good for her to focus on anything else, too delectable a morsel of toxic temptation for her to deny.

"You're just as fucking crazy as I am deep down," he whispered against her lips. His hands slid up her sides, over her breasts, and finally up into the brunette hair that he honestly hated with a passion. It just didn't suit her in the slightest as far as he was concerned. He pulled the pins out and tossed them on the floor, pulling back and grinning when her hair cascaded down over her shoulders and returned to its natural sunny coloration. "Mm… _Much_ better…" That damn spirit of hers was a pretty smart fucking cookie, apparently. "I can hear it, so there's no point in denying it."

"What if I am?" she whispered breathily, her voice quivering as he pulled a lock of her free-flowing blonde hair between his fingers. Lucy had already begun questioning her sanity well before stumbling across Crime Sorciere. She had to have been some sort of crazy to be a successful member of Fairy Tail. Crazier still for ripping out a piece of her heart to save them during the war with Tartaros. She had to have been off her rocker to have waited in the broken remnants of Magnolia, hoping Natsu would come back, that his letter to her had just been a joke of some sort; for hoping that the guild hadn't really left her behind.

But that was nothing in comparison to the dreams that had plagued her as of late. Dreams of Jackal torturing her, of her supposed family in Fairy Tail shunning her and turning her over to the revived demons. Of Aquarius mocking the tears she shed and the disappointment on her mother and father's ghostly faces when they saw all the damage she'd done.

Even worse though, were the dreams that should have terrified her, but didn't. The ones that made her wake up smiling. Getting revenge on the ones who hurt her in the past and torturing them for days. Weeks, even. Some of them were enemies. Mard Geer was a star in a great many of those horrific dreams. But others were of Natsu. Of Erza. Lucy's deep desire to get back at them for the pain they'd caused her, for leaving her behind when she'd needed them more than ever.

"No one sees it," she whispered.

Cobra nipped harshly at her lips and she gasped, forcefully pulled from the well of pain spiralling in her mind. "That's why I'm keeping it on. I like crazy blondes," he growled. "And I _do_ see it. It's sexy as hell, and just begging to come out."

"Whirlwind romance, for sure," she whispered with a soft smile. Her thumb brushed lightly over the shell of his ear, pulling a low growl from him that had her breath hitching as it travelled right down to her core. "With a sexy beast."

Cobra peeked his eye open and raised a challenging brow at her. "You think you've got what it takes to keep me in line, huh?"

Lucy shook her head and laughed. "I might be a little off-kilter, but I'm not delusional. I've only got three rules when it comes to relationships. No cheating. No lying. And if you ever decide to turn into an abusive prick, my spirits have permission to torture you for as long as they want."

Cobra blinked slowly, both eyebrows raising in surprise when the mental picture of one of Lucy's ex-boyfriends popped up in her head, with a good chunk of his skin having been torn off on one side, burn marks all over his body, bound tightly in chains that were very clearly slicing into his flesh. The once black-haired man was a bald, pathetic little sobbing pile on the ground, with three of her spirits—Virgo, one named Loke, and surprisingly Aries—all towering over him with matching expressions of pure hatred and disgust on their faces. "That's what they did when he _slapped_ you?"

Lucy grinned maliciously and nodded. "My spirits take very good care of me. Are those reasonable?"

"You don't really need to worry about the third one, but yeah."

"Why's that?" she asked.

"I don't hit women. Titania doesn't count... She's a fucking monster."

"Yeah, she is." She tilted her head to the side and frowned. "You've never hit a woman aside from Erza?"

"Fuck no. I make Angel do it," Cobra sneered. He wasn't going to mention those extenuating circumstances right then. With Lucy, he could already tell that they just didn't apply. "That's just fucking sick."

"Where _is_ the line in your head between right and wrong?" Lucy giggled. "Or is it more of a squiggle?"

Cobra chuckled and kissed the tip of her nose. "More like certain points. Women, kids, rape, and pedophilia pretty much sum up the main ones that I won't fucking touch. Otherwise, it's a case-by-case basis."

"Fine," Lucy nodded. "That one is more of a warning anyway, so rule three... Specifically because this is _you_ we're talking about: no torturing people and/or cannibalism in front of me, unless we're under extremely dire circumstances... Use your best judgment on that last one."

Cobra let out a bark of laughter. "Alright. I think I can handle that."

When a sultry little smirk pulled at one corner of her mouth, Cobra couldn't stop himself from diving down and claiming those plump lips of hers. He groaned when she pulled him flush against her, parting his lips and sucking in a sharp breath when he tasted her. He didn't think it was possible for someone to taste so goddamn good, but Lucy was apparently the exception.

He'd never been like this with a woman before. Never so open and willing to taste her, feel her wrapped in his arms and tucked into his chest. For the first time in his life, he wasn't the one spelling shit out. Lucy was. She gave him her little rules—which were more common sense than anything else, but based on what he heard in her soul she needed to get it out there—and it was easy enough to agree to them. But that was all she cared about in a relationship.

' _I just want someone to not leave for once… God he's an amazing kisser… I just want someone to not hurt me for a change…'_

She wanted trust, commitment, and in his case… not to watch his favorite pastime. The last one sucked, but he could deal with it. Lucy wanted loyalty, and even though he was an asshole with a penchant for murder, Cobra was definitely fucking loyal.

He was lost to everything around them, so when the door he was pinning Lucy to suddenly flew open, his eye snapped open in shock when they toppled over and fell into the hallway.

Angel covered her mouth to stifle her laughter—although it was completely ineffective with just how hard she was laughing—when Lucy and Cobra let out surprised squawks while they tumbled into the hall. Her laughter only increased when his face somehow managed to land on Lucy's chest, and the rest of his body fell between her legs. "Well, _hey_ you guys," she crooned.

Cobra growled in annoyance and narrowed his eye at Angel, internally chuckling when he felt Lucy go rigid beneath him—and filing away the knowledge that making that particular noise anywhere near Lucy's chest was a huge turn-on for her—then slowly lifted his head.

"Hey," Lucy said with a deep blush on her cheeks. "We were _just_ coming to find you guys."

Jellal locked away the hysterical laughter that wanted to bubble out of him, and cleared his throat to get Angel to calm down. While he waited, he peered past the prone mages into the room and kept his face completely blank while he took in the sight of a man with a portion of his face melted off completely. Plus three other corpses on the far wall.

"We got the leader," Jellal said. "He had no useful information. Rune Knights will be here shortly, so we'll need to leave as quickly as possible before it's too late to make an escape."

"It's probably already too late to get out through the main hall," Hoteye said.

Lucy smoothed her hair and skirts as best as she could manage, then looked over at Meredy who was still holding the door open and gaping at her and Cobra. "Meredy, are you alright?"

"I… I will never look at Beauty and the Beast the same," Meredy whispered. "That was... I don't even know what to say..."

Cobra rolled his eye while Meredy started walking away, the rest of the otherwise silent group following suit. He glanced at Lucy only to snort when her cheeks turned a brighter shade of red.

"Meredy... Really?" Angel laughed. " _You're_ the one that locked them in there!"

Midnight pulled the handkerchief away from his nose, sighing in relief when he saw that the bleeding had stopped. "And had your ear pressed to the door the whole time… Even though it was entirely unnecessary."

Lucy stumbled in her step and looked at Cobra with wide eyes. "You knew they were there… didn't you," she said.

Cobra smirked down at the little bundle of hidden craziness with brilliant blonde hair. He was definitely appreciating just how bright her hair was, now that it was back to normal. "Does it look like I care if they heard me fucking your face off?"

Before Lucy could say anything, Jellal interjected, "Speaking of no faces… An iron to the face, Cobra? I know you're fucked in the head, but isn't melting someone's face off with one a bit much?"

Cobra startled everyone, including the blonde next to him, when he stopped in the middle of the hallway and started laughing uncontrollably. Everyone turned to stare at him, thinking that the dozen or so screws that were loose in his head had finally caused him to fall over the deep end into utter and irreversible insanity, and that fact alone had him losing his ability to breathe from laughing so goddamn hard.

Lucy stood awkwardly next to the maroon-haired lunatic, giggling when he ended up snorting like a pig while trying to pull in more air. She smiled sheepishly at Jellal. "Actually… That was, um… That was me. I hit him with an iron."

"N-No!" Cobra choked out while everyone turned their shocked expressions to Lucy. "Not… Not just hit… It was fucking awesome!"

Angel smirked. "What do you mean 'not just hit'?"

His laughter finally calmed down, although he was still wracked with the occasional chuckle, and Cobra draped his arm over Lucy's shoulders. He pulled her just a little closer to himself, and grinned. "She stripped down to her underwear to fight, tackled him, and then burnt him with an iron for calling her hot... God, the fucking puns alone... _Priceless_. Then she threw _another_ iron at him—which is the one that actually melted his face off—when he started waking up while we were—"

Lucy threw a hand over his mouth, then squeaked and pulled it away when he bit her. When Cobra started laughing again, she frowned and grumbled, "Shut up, Cobra…"

Cobra paused and blinked innocently at Lucy. "Don't tell _me_ to shut up. You're the psycho that's prancing around and pushing precariously perched, pockmarked, pencil pricks down the stairs, plus your propensity for piercing and perforating penile and perineal regions with those particularly perilous and perfectly 'pinchy' pumps."

"Do you have _any_ idea what he just said?" Midnight whispered to Angel. Neither of them looked away from the growing smile on Cobra's face.

"… Are you done?" Lucy asked Cobra slowly. _'Holy shit, if one more bit of witty word play comes out of his mouth, I'm dragging him to a broom closet and tearing his clothes off…'_ Never in her life had the letter 'p' sounded so… perfectly passionate and provocative.

Cobra tipped his head from side to side and hummed in mock thought while he listened in on what Lucy was thinking. Needless to say, the fact that she had continued his little bit of consonance foreplay in her head was just sexy as hell. With a small quirk to his lips, he answered, "… Probably."

Lucy dropped her head to her hands and laughed. "You're ridiculous… And insane…" And she was going to have to hold onto this raging libido of hers until they reached a more secluded place. Like a tent or park… Or a playground… Or pretty much fucking anywhere. She wanted Cobra to take her wherever he pleased and have his way with her all over again, all because he was feeding her inner author with witty conversation.

Cobra chuckled, running his nose along her cheek and completely forgetting that the rest of their guild mates were still standing there watching them. "Hey, I'm the not the one throwing gritty ass Gain in people's eyes, and throwing them into fucking Narnia with a glittery river whip. That's _all_ you."

Angel shook her head in response to Midnight's question, "Not a damn clue..." She looked over to Jellal and watched with no small amount of amusement at the utterly bewildered expression on his face.

"Narnia is in a wardrobe," Lucy said with a frown. "I threw him into the laundry chute. And it's not _my_ fault the stupid thing collapsed!"

"Piddly shit details on his teleportation to another realm aside," Cobra chuckled as he slowly turned his head to look over at Jellal. "Belle here is the one that did it. I just watched the psycho going to town before her ass gets dragged off to the fucking funny farm."

Which wasn't true in the slightest. He'd never let her get dragged off anywhere.

Jellal was jolted from the pit of utter confusion he seemed to have fallen in when he heard the surprisingly sweet nickname for Lucy coming from Cobra. Everyone the guy met, he'd give them some intensely fucked up name and never let it go. Ever. But Lucy had gone from 'Blondie' to 'Belle'… Apparently, there was actually some part of the insane Slayer that actually had a soft spot for—

Jellal felt a chill go down his spine, and looked at Cobra to see an intense and wholly terrifying glare being directed at him. Then promptly decided to leave that train of thought right the hell alone to save himself several months of checking his food for poison by feeding it to birds first. "Well, we need to get moving," he said, just a little too loudly.

Lucy narrowed her eyes at Cobra when they started walking again. She still couldn't get over the fact that he'd known the rest of the guild was listening to them having sex. She really did value her privacy, and who she had sex with and just what kind of _sounds_ came out of her during that sex, was no one else's business. Then again, he'd agreed to the no lying thing after they'd banged a table into the ground, so she guessed she couldn't be too mad. "'Til death do us part, you slithery little snakefucker. Keep that in mind…"

Everyone froze when Meredy stopped dead in her tracks and slowly turned to face Lucy and Cobra. Her eyes honed in on the arm draped over the blonde's shoulders, the wedding band on Cobra's finger as he drew slow circles over Lucy's bared shoulder, then the ring on Lucy's finger. "Oh God! CoLu babies!"

Cobra blanched when Meredy started to lose her shit, mumbling nearly incoherently about all of her dastardly plans to force himself and Lucy to bear an ungodly amount of children between comments of " _I don't know how I didn't think of it sooner!"_

Lucy grimaced when she recognized a nearly identical Mira-smile plastered on Meredy's face. "Cut out my uterus right now before she goes full Mira on us…"

Cobra nodded. "That's a much better plan than cutting off my balls… Why the fuck would you think about that?"

Lucy waved him off and inched closer to his side. "You remember that third rule?" she asked. "I'm considering her scheming as a dire circumstance. If she's anything like Mira, you have my permission to become the biggest cannibal in the world to keep her far the fuck away from my lady bits."

Cobra rolled his eye and opened his mouth with a snarky comment sitting on the tip of his tongue, then paused and turned his head sharply to gape at her. "Wait, you're fucking serious..."

"You're the one who's with a crazy blonde," Lucy replied with a wicked grin. "You tell me."

When Angel started literally slapping some sense into Meredy—possibly a little too forcefully—so they could keep moving, Midnight walked up next to Cobra and whispered, "You know… I think you've finally met your match."

Cobra nodded slowly. "You're telling me…" He looked down at Lucy when her head rested contentedly on his shoulder, a sweet smile on her face that completely hid the psycho he could hear just beneath the surface. When they finally started making their way down the hall again, he gently squeezed her shoulders and smirked when her left hand lifted, their fingers intertwining. The light caught their wedding rings, and he pressed a soft kiss to her hair.

He figured, if they actually had been Beauty and the Beast, then this was the most fucked up fairy tale ending in existence. Then again, he rather liked the sound of that.

* * *

 **During the editing for this, I almost removed the lyrics. I've gotten to the point where I don't really use lyrics in the narration of my stories, but this one… I don't know, I just needed those to stay.**

 **This marks the end of the 2015 entry. The next chapter will begin the 2016 entry. There will also be a 2017 entry during CoLu week so… There's that.**


	4. 2016 - Lunacy, Part 1

**A/N: We've made it to the 2016 prompt! There will only be two chapters for the 2016 prompt, and then you'll have to wait for CoLu Week for more! It was a pretty even split for this one. Half of the original chapter now, and half later.**

 **I hope you like the additions. I figured I'd flesh out a good bit of it… removed some other things… I think I like it better this way.**

* * *

 _ **2016 - Excuses, Part 1**_

 _ **Lunacy**_

* * *

The mages of Crime Sorciere made it out of the mansion without incident, even with Meredy's meltdown over her latest shipping obsession - and Angel's subsequent slapfest of the pink-haired mage - taking up precious minutes of their time. Twenty-three of them, to be precise.

Still, they were able to make their way farther and farther from Lord Mason Aurus' estate, and finally paused deep within the woods past the edge of town to rest for the night. The tents were pitched quickly, and Lucy was more than ready to tear her corset and skirt off, then burn the material in the fire the others constructed. Mainly, because she couldn't fucking _breathe_ with the thing on, since the boning was still dented a little. She'd been it back to normal as much as she could, but it just didn't fit right.

Except, knowing what she was going to do, Virgo came out and stripped Lucy of the dress and whisked it away back to the Celestial Realm. The rest of the Crime Sorciere did get quite the laugh over Lucy's screams while her tent shook violently. And when the flap opened for a moment, everyone was able to see Lucy trying to crawl out, half-dressed, only to be dragged back in by Virgo.

Eventually she came stumbling out of her tent to find everyone just staring at her with matching grins on their faces. Her cheeks burned and she ducked her head while moving to take a seat beside Cobra, who had already changed into his normal nighttime pants and thermal shirt. It was the only space that was open unless she wanted to squeeze in between Angel and Hoteye. Based on how Meredy kept staring once she took a seat, Lucy thought maybe she would've been better off doing that.

Cobra's arm wrapped around her shoulders, drawing her into his side, and honestly that made Lucy feel just a little less exposed for the time being. He was so warm, so inviting. Even though it was summertime and the fire was only really necessary for them to cook up a little food and talk before they went to sleep, it was nice to have someone holding her in front of a fire for a change.

She never would have thought that Cobra would be one for snuggling out in the open, but there he was with his nose nestled in her hair and lips pressing a gentle kiss to her temple, with his fingers drawing slow circles over her arm.

"So," Jellal said as Midnight leaned forward to stir the stew, "There's not much in the way of news."

"That's an understatement," Angel sighed. "All that work for nothing."

"Not nothing," Meredy chirped. "CoLu exists now."

"Shut the fuck up," Cobra said. " _CoLu_ is not a goddamn word."

"It could be."

"Anyway!" Jellal's head dropped to his hand. "We helped those nobles and seriously cut back on the casualties that would have happened if we hadn't been there. I'm going to count that as a sort of win."

"Why?" Lucy asked.

"Because people still died," Midnight said, rolling his eyes. "Jellal is just piling on guilt, so anytime someone dies when he's delusional enough to think he could have saved them-"

"I'm not that bad," Jellal frowned.

Lucy smiled at that, but she stayed silent. It just went to show that Jellal really had changed from the psychopath he'd been before. There he was, along with the rest of this guild, making the world a better place, regardless of their past.

Maybe that was why she'd agreed to join. Or maybe it was just because she was heartbroken and needed people around her who could maybe fill the void her last guild had left. God that was depressing.

"You're fine," Cobra whispered into her ear. He glanced down at her clasped hands in her lap, instantly taking notice of the bandages on her knees. With a quick dip into her soul he found that she'd actually gotten quite a few scrapes on her knees from them fucking in that splintered pile of a laundry table. And that, apparently, the slightly minty smell coming from her was actually a balm from Virgo to help soothe the pain in her left knee that had been shattered by Jackal during the war.

Not once had she mentioned it hurting though. She'd been running all night, walking around in heels, and she hadn't mentioned the pain at all. When he listened for it, on the other hand, he was more than surprised to find that Lucy was in about as much pain as he'd been in when gouging out his eye. Her knee was royally fucked. And still, that didn't stop her from doing what needed to be done.

"So, even though there's no new information on Zeref's whereabouts," Jellal said, "We have to keep moving. Cobra, you said a few days ago that you have a contact somewhere that you might be able to get some information out of?"

"Yeah," he said. "We'll have to go west though. Into Crocus."

"You expect us to just wander into the capital like we're not wanted criminals?" Racer asked. "Cobra, I know you're crazy, but c'mon."

"That does sound a bit more insane than usual," Midnight said.

"It's not like I'm saying we're walking into the fucking Council and throwing out some windmill dicks," Cobra sneered. "It's just Crocus. We've gotten out of tighter pinches before."

"That's true," Angel nodded. She smirked while looking at Meredy. "Did I ever tell you about the time Midnight dragged Cobra down the street with his magic carpet, running from Rune Knights?"

"No," Meredy giggled.

"Oh god, well Cobra's pants were torn at the ass from dragging on the ground and-"

"And if you finish telling that story my shoe is going to be lodged in your cunt from the super-punt you're gonna get," Cobra snarled. The only thing that stopped him from even leaning closer to Angel where she sat across the fire was the fact that Lucy was beside him. And that she'd reached over to grab his free hand and had started lightly tracing his fingers, drawing random patterns on his palm, and not once did she try to push up his sleeve to get to the scar on his wrist.

"Of course you will, Cobra," Angel snickered. "My pussy's quivering with anticipation."

"That's so weird," Midnight said, shaking his head.

"That's the power of love for you," Hoteye grinned. "Love between comrades."

"We'll break camp in the morning," Jellal said to anyone who was actually listening. "And we'll head for the mountains near Crocus. Cobra and Midnight, you two work well together… sometimes… so the two of you can go and meet up with this contact."

"Maybe Angel would be better," Lucy interjected.

"How do you figure?" Meredy asked.

"Well, when everyone was running around during the Infinity Clock," she said, wincing with unease. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to bring up their very recent attempt on her life. She wasn't sure. But then Cobra lightly squeezed her shoulder, and Lucy forced herself to continue. "I met one of the Celestial mages that hadn't been killed."

"You met one?" Midnight asked, frowning.

She nodded, still toying with Cobra's hand. Why did she find something like that, so small and mindless, so comforting?

"It wasn't for long, and I don't remember a lot of it now," Lucy said. "But she survived an attack, and said that she heard from another Celestial mage that he saw Cobra and Angel setting the church on fire after killing everyone inside."

"What happened to them?" Meredy asked.

"They died," Racer said. "That was the whole point of the thing. We had to get rid of them or we wouldn't have been able to get all the pieces of the Clock."

"Except we needed a Celestial mage that wasn't bound with that body link magic they'd used to open the lock," Midnight added.

"Alright, well we already know that everyone here is capable of hurting people," Jellal said. "How does Cobra and Angel working together once make them a better team than him and Midnight?"

"Because it's hard enough getting around without people recognizing me," Cobra said. "Add in the drag queen over there, and someone will notice."

"I can take off my makeup, you know."

"We know," Cobra replied. "No one wants to get the shit scared out of them by seeing that ugly fucking face."

"I guess it would be easier if I went," Angel said, frowning in thought. "We'll have our cloaks anyway, but if someone sees my face they won't instantly think I'm evil."

"I'm not _evil_ ," Midnight groaned.

"You look like every damn day is fucking Halloween," Cobra snorted. "You're evil."

"Says the one who kills-" Midnight paused, staring wide-eyed at the Poison Slayer when his hand began curling into a fist on Lucy's shoulder. Probably not the best idea to bring that up right then. "Well, you just kill people," he finished lamely.

"I do a whole lot more than that," Cobra chuckled.

"Fine," Jellal said. "Angel, you're with Cobra when we get to Crocus. Just make sure to keep your guild marks hidden, just in case."

Lucy's head lowered as everyone continued talking, and her gaze stayed trained on the embers of their campfire. She refused to look at the back of her hand, to the bright pink Fairy Tail guild mark that was still there. It was just one more reason for her to feel like an outsider with her new guildmates. But she wasn't going to say anything. Not yet.

Maybe Jellal just had stipulations for when she would get her own guild mark. Maybe she needed to be with them for a little while It had only been two days since she'd joined, and even though she'd gotten her guild mark from Master Makarov right away there was no reason to assume it was always like that. She wouldn't be travelling with them if she wasn't part of their guild, right?

Instead, Lucy forced herself to brush it off. She unconsciously leaned into Cobra's side while tracing the different lines on his palm. Cana had tried to teach her palm reading, but she'd never been able to pick it up. All those heart lines and life lines and fate lines. She could never keep all the information straight in her head.

It was too bad though. Lucy was really curious about what Cobra's hands would say about who he was.

* * *

It was during the night nearly two weeks later that Lucy found herself biting her lip while sitting up on her bedroll, nervously fiddling with the golden ring that was still on her finger. Why she was nervous, she couldn't really explain, but her head shot up when a nearly silent rustle at the back of her tent drew her full attention.

Not a moment later, Cobra's single indigo eye peered between the open flaps and he crawled inside, smirking all the while.

"Heard you going a mile a minute," he whispered, taking a seat on her bedroll. The way she curled into his side had him nearly drawing back in surprise, but then he caught sight of the ring she hadn't taken off. He still wore his too, mainly because the meltdowns Meredy kept having over them had been quite the source of entertainment in the past two weeks.

That, and he could hear Jellal trying to think of some way to explain to Erza that the job they'd taken from her might have resulted in her best friend sort of agreeing to marry a psychopath. Cobra couldn't let that shit go.

"You must really have a thing for the back door," Lucy laughed softly, trying not to make Midnight aware of the fact that she was, in fact, still awake. Or that she had company. They didn't really need a lookout at night, but she'd come to find out that the Reflector mage was so tired during the day because his magic was most powerful at night. So that was when he was awake and more alert than ever.

"I'm impartial," Cobra chuckled. His arm wound around her and his fingers gently pushed under the thin strap of her camisole to caress her shoulder. "Front door, back door… face door… It's all the same, really."

"Except for the bodily functions," she supplied with a small smirk.

"Now you're gettin' it."

Lucy sighed and reached over for his other hand, smiling when it easily came closer to rest in her lap. She'd developed a habit of tracing his fingers, but she couldn't really explain why. It was something he didn't seem to mind either, because he would just patiently sit and watch what she was doing.

"Feels nice," he breathed into her golden hair. "I'm still not used to that."

Her fingers trailed up to his scarred wrists, the two-inch thick bands of marred flesh, paler than the rest of his tanned body. He flinched for only a moment before falling still, and she smiled in understanding up at him. Really, it hadn't taken long to figure out - after he'd, of course, told her that the scars were from shackles - that Cobra just wasn't used to small, affectionate gestures like that.

"What's got you up?" Cobra asked.

"Everything," she sighed. "But don't let me keep you up. Jellal said-"

"I know what that fucking blueberry said," Cobra sneered. "We've got a whisper of some bullshit lead again, and we're heading out of Fiore in the morning." Granted that bullshit lead was his own contact in Crocus, but that didn't mean he had to fucking like it.

"How do you know it's bullshit?"

"Because _everything_ is bullshit with him." Cobra turned and gently pushed Lucy down onto her back, his legs straddling her hips. "But I wanna know what's happening in Psycho Town. The mayor get executed or something?"

She rolled her eyes, her hands dropping to the thermal shirt he usually wore to bed - something she only knew because of seeing him in the mornings or just before they went to sleep before he disappeared into his own tent - and teasingly pulling at the bottom hem.

It had been two weeks since the first time they'd slept together, and she'd yet to feel his skin against hers again.

Things had been too hectic, and Lucy, for her part, was trying to keep whatever was between them relatively private. Which meant it was more than difficult to find a little alone time with the man she both hardly knew and was kind of, maybe, mostly, but not really (she thought) engaged to. And she wanted to have time alone with Cobra. He was funny, sweet in an oddly twisted way that suited him just a little too well, and then there was the fact that they still only had that one, bumbling experience with the two of them being nothing more than writhing limbs on top of a laundry room table… and then in the pile of splinters left in its wake partway through.

Cobra sighed as his shirt was thrown to the corner of the tent, his eye closing as she gently traced each and every plane of his stomach and chest. He knew exactly where she was coming from with at least a portion of what was on her mind. He wanted, more than anything, to tell Jellal and the others to fuck the hell off for a few days so he could get much better acquainted with her, but all they'd been doing since she'd joined was taking out dark guilds left and right on their way to Crocus.

No one had a clue where Zeref was at, and even Jellal - their 'fearless leader' - was at a loss for where they should head next. He was grasping at straws. If Cobra had heard even a whisper of something, he would have mentioned it. His little informant hadn't known a damn thing aside from some information from a pretty sketchy source, and Cobra had only told Jellal about it in the first place because that's what he'd said he would do. He hadn't thought the asshole would jump on the opportunity to get out of Fiore.

Her slender fingers danced along his flesh, and Cobra's eye opened until it was only a slit. He'd been more than comfortable with letting Lucy manhandle him that first night, but it seemed like she was more than happy with taking her time to memorize every bit of him. That, in itself, was weird, but so was she.

"Talk to me," Cobra whispered. "You're too jumbled for me to pull anything out."

A rueful smile pulled at her lips once his eye fully opened again. "Why do you wanna know?" she whispered.

"Because you're a puzzle, and I'm asking for a fucking hint," he chuckled.

"Kiss me first." Lucy's smile warmed as his lips covered hers in an instant. She apparently wasn't alone in the need for some affection. His lips were still too tempting. Every time she'd watched him talking, even while he was in the middle of berating Midnight or one of the others, Lucy hadn't been able to take her eyes off of Cobra's lips.

She knew just what he was capable of doing with them, just how they looked while he was snarling and growling and nipping at her flesh.

God, she missed that. Just the one time, no matter how much had gone utterly wrong, and Lucy knew she was hooked. It was part of the reason that she hadn't taken the ring off. Also, Cobra hadn't taken his off, so it just didn't feel right not to wear hers.

"Talk," he hissed against her lightly kiss-swollen lips.

Lucy sighed and tipped her head back on the bedroll, smiling while his tongue drew a searing path down the column of her throat. "You're distracting," she giggled quietly.

He sucked on the juncture of her collarbones before slowly climbing up the opposite side of her neck. "Maybe, but I'm good at multitasking. I take care of this, you tell me what the shit is happening in your head. We both get something out of it."

Her fingers dug into his upper arms as his sharpened canines scraped just behind her ear. How did he always know just where to touch to make her melt? She definitely wasn't complaining though. Not at all. "What are you getting out of th-this?"

"Laid, once you spill the fucking beans."

"What m-makes you think I'm having sex with you?"

"The fact that I've already got your fucking panties off, most likely," he grinned.

She blinked and tried to lift her head to look at her bare sex, but he cut her off with a devilish grin while licking down the center of her chest and between her breasts.

"Tell me, Belle," Cobra whispered, his lips trailing over the top edge of her camisole and slowly pushing it lower.

Lucy had plenty that had been on her mind over the past two weeks. Fairy Tail, alone, was taking up a good portion of her mental faculties when she had any form of downtime. With that came thinking of her team, of Natsu, then her spirits - mainly Aquarius. She missed them, and she hated that she missed them. She wished Aquarius' key had never been broken, but it had seemed like the right thing to do at the time. Except, it felt like she'd killed her own mother that day, and nothing had felt the same since.

If it wasn't that, then it was her new guild. How she was trying to fit in with them, and work with the dynamic they all seemed to have. She wondered if she really even fit at all, considering Lucy was the only one of them that hadn't been a criminal, or part of a dark guild. She was the only one that didn't have some dark past that she was trying to atone for. Her only real sin was what she'd done to Aquarius' key, but there wasn't anything she could do to make that situation better by defeating dark guilds.

It really didn't help that she still didn't have a guild mark. That her Fairy Tail mark was shining on the back of her hand as though they all still cared about her. She was supposed to be part of Crime Sorciere, but there was nothing to prove that she really belonged with them aside from her new cloak. But clothes could be damaged. She'd been walking proof of that time and again.

And even though Lucy had been thinking about way too much of late, she didn't want to bother Cobra with it. He wasn't her boyfriend - at least, she wasn't sure if he considered himself as one - although, he was adamant about keeping that ring on his finger. She didn't want to make him think that she needed to lean on him, use him as a crutch, because she was too weak to handle her own problems. Besides, it was one thing for him to hear it - she already knew that he couldn't help it with his magic most times - but it was entirely different to complain about her piddly shit issues when he could already hear it.

"Fuck, you think too much," Cobra grumbled.

"I seem to recall you telling me that the last time you were on top of me," Lucy giggled as his hips came to rest between her legs.

Suddenly, Lucy decided that she didn't want to go further without knowing anything more about him. She knew his birth name, unlike most people. She knew a little about how he got the scars on his wrists and back. But she didn't know much more than the few tidbits she'd picked up. He felt way too good as he settled between her legs, and the way his hands caressed her skin was like a sin all on its own, but no matter how badly she wanted him, Lucy wanted to know who he really was even more. Even just a little bit.

"That's what you wanna focus on?"

"I couldn't really ask you much after we left Lord Dumbass's." Lucy smiled when he sighed and dropped his head to her shoulder.

"Ask away then."

Really, it was a matter of her thinking so damn loudly about way too much that had drawn him over. That, and he was seriously bordering on murdering the rest of their guildmates just to get some time with Lucy. He'd been learning more about her over the past couple weeks, but she did have a point. She didn't really know anything about him.

Cobra wasn't accustomed to people wanting to know about him in general, considering the majority of people he met were his enemy - usually, his prey. So, really, he wasn't sure what it was that compelled him to want to open up. He just knew that he wanted to. Something about her made him want to let her in. Even just a little.

She didn't even know where to start though, and that was a really big problem. She knew so little about Cobra that she couldn't even decide how to ask him more about himself.

"If I knew, I'd tell you," he chuckled. He was just as lost as she was about this whole thing.

"Well, how did Jellal decide to recruit you guys?" she asked.

"He felt guilty," Cobra said. "He wanted to give us another chance, to show us that we didn't have to be bad guys."

It was weird as hell, but when he realized that Lucy had no idea why Jellal would feel guilty over anything concerning the former Oracion Seis members, he knew that it would be better if he just didn't bring up the Tower of Heaven. She knew about it, and that Jellal had once been there with Erza, and even what Jellal had done to the slaves there. Except he really didn't want her to know that he'd been a slave like that. It was a serious hit to his pride, and that was something Cobra didn't like dwelling on. Not to mention that conversation would probably be a whole lot longer than he wanted it to be, and if they started talking about it then he'd never get to have sex with her.

"He must have decided that there was some good in you, then?"

"Why fucking knows with him?" Cobra frowned.

"Well, I'd assume you do," she giggled. Her fingers trailed across his scalp in slow, soothing patterns, and Lucy found herself smiling when Cobra all but melted on top of her. Apparently, he liked having his hair played with.

"Maybe I do," he mumbled.

"Well, will you tell me?"

"You want to know if there's some good in me somewhere?" he asked, his frown deepening. That was what she cared about. She didn't want him to be completely evil, or to find out that there was nothing more to him than a lunatic with a penchant for wordplay and snark.

He could answer that one. That was easy.

"I'm not all bad," he whispered. "Even before we joined up with Jellal, when you guys were all frozen and shit, I've always had this habit of getting kids out of shit situations. Kidnapping, mostly, before they're put on the black market."

"People actually do that?"

"Yes." His answer may have been too intense, based on how she jumped and her fingers went still in his hair. "No one deserves to be auctioned off like cattle and sold to some freak who wants to harvest their organs, or force them to have bear children for some damn cult when they're barely old enough to _have_ them in the first place."

That was, in her opinion, a terrifying concept. She knew the world wasn't exactly kind, but to think that was something that actually happened. And to children.

"Don't think about it," he said. "Just know that I'm not all bad. When I hear it, I can't stop myself from trying to stop it. The others know that, even Jellal."

When his nose brushed against her throat, Lucy smiled and her fingers started moving once again. There were so many things for her to learn about him. That had definitely not been something she would have expected to hear though. Because, as far as she could tell, Cobra was still a whole lot closer to being the bad guy than everyone else in Crime Sorciere.

"I am," he said.

"How long have you been able to hear souls?"

"Since I was born," he whispered. He was genuinely surprised by how easily the answers were coming, but Cobra definitely wasn't going to complain. Every time he told her something about himself, her soul very nearly cooed with happiness. How fucking weird was it that he wanted to hear more of that odd trill?

"But I want to ask you something," he said, and felt her nod. "You don't plan on forgiving Salamander, do you?"

"No. I've forgiven a lot of people for the shitty things they've done to me in the past - people who have beaten me, tortured me, even you guys for trying to sacrifice me to that clock. But Natsu was my best friend, and he abandoned me when I needed someone the most," she said.

He could understand that sentiment, wholeheartedly. If any of the former Seis members had just up and ditched him after losing Cubellios, he never would have forgiven them either. As soon as they'd broken out of prison, everyone had helped him search for her. Because they knew how important she was, they understood it, and they stuck by him when he needed someone the most. Even though he'd never really thanked any of them for it.

"I sacrificed a key, the first friend and contract I ever made, to save everyone. And he just left without a word aside from 'Take care of the guild, Luce.' Everyone else scattered after Fairy Tail was disbanded, but he ran away with his tail between his legs when the ones he called family needed him. He ditched the guild, and me, before there wasn't anything to salvage... He can call it what he wants - training, mourning the loss of his dad - but it's all the same in the end..."

Cobra blinked in surprise as he heard just how little Lucy was trying to keep from him. And that was the biggest difference between them, he supposed. He was used to being closed down, while the blonde in his arms was an open book. But he was doing a whole lot better about being open with her, at least.

She scowled, sighing when Cobra's smirking lips teased her into a slow, passionate kiss. Really, he was a distraction all to himself. Needless to say, she was slightly breathless by the time the kiss ended. And feeling his arms around her, caging her in, the blonde felt oddly safe.

"Some things you just don't forgive, and I get that," she whispered. "I thought he couldn't do anything wrong, no matter how destructive he was, and look where that got me."

"Well, it got you in my arms," Cobra said with a small smile. "I'm not complaining about that." She didn't look very impressed, but he could hear that she agreed with him at least a little bit. "So, you've gotten that off your chest. What else? Because your soul is loud as hell."

"Questions later," Lucy giggled, winding her arms around the Poison Slayer. "I don't get much time with you like this."

"Try none," he grumbled.

"Well, if Meredy wouldn't have a coronary, I'd say we should just share a tent."

"If it'll kill her, I'm all for it," he said with a malicious grin. Lucy rolled her eyes and his hand stole down her side to massage her outer thigh. "I wanna spend more time with you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. We're engaged, after all," he chuckled. He didn't want to know why seeing the gold ring on her finger, and having its other half on his own hand, made Cobra want to smile. Maybe it was just that she was a crazy blonde, and he _really_ did have a thing for blondes.

"We're not engaged," she laughed.

"You proposed, I said yes. We're engaged," Cobra said.

"I hardly know you."

"Then it's just like that shit your old man was gonna force you into," he said. The fact that Lucy scowled and pinched his side was more than surprising.

"And I ran away from th-"

Cobra rolled his eye and gently bit her lips to close them. "The difference between then and now," he whispered, pulling back slightly, "Is that _you_ did the proposing."

"It was for the mission," Lucy said. "And you said I had to propose."

"True," he nodded. "And if you weren't so damn interesting, I would've taken the ring off as soon as I could."

"That…"

"You've got three rules for relationships," Cobra smirked. "No lying. No cheating. No maiming and cannibalism in front of you."

"It was 'no torture', but yeah…"

"Either way, I'm going in under the assumption that you _want_ a relationship."

Lucy silently looked away, her fading blush roaring back to life.

"And do you remember what I told you… When we were figuring out how to act before going into the party?"

Lucy's brow pushed together while she slowly turned her head to look into his strangely soft expression. She remembered walking up to the manor with Cobra, all of it. But, she hadn't considered just what he'd told her having any real bearing on where they were at right then.

" _If I was gonna get married, I'd do it for love… With my magic, it's not like that shit's gonna happen anyway. People are fucking disgusting deep down, or annoying as shit. Or both. Just a benefit of hearing someone's soul, I guess… I doubt I'd be able to fucking do it while constantly hearing just how fucked in the head someone is, but I'd have to love whoever I married if I was gonna put up with their shit."_

But, Lucy was left wondering just what that meant. He kept joking about them being engaged, even agreed to her own fucked up terms of being in a relationship. So, did it really mean that he wanted to be with her?

"I do," Cobra whispered, his lips ghosting over her cheek. "I don't love you, but I'm willing to bet it'd happen if I let it."

"You can't just _let_ yourself fall in love with someone."

"I wouldn't know," he chuckled. "So keep that in mind when you're confused."

"So, you…"

"I'm your fiancè," Cobra grinned. "And as such, I'm gonna need you to put the rest of your questions on hold, because really… My dick is begging to get back in you."

"Wow," Lucy laughed. "I think that's the most romantic thing I've heard all day."

"Well, now that's just not fair," he laughed. "I thought Angel had a really magical moment with Racer earlier."

"You mean when she held your head over his bowl and made you spit poison into it?"

Really, that was part of the reason Lucy couldn't see herself fitting in with the others. They were always trying to kill each other. Well, Jellal wasn't usually trying to kill anyone, and Meredy was mostly consumed by thoughts of ships. Racer, she wasn't sure. Hoteye, she could only assume it was his obsession with Koolaid. And Midnight was either sleeping, or suffering from a nosebleed when some sort of innuendo was made.

So, really, it was only Angel that was trying to kill everyone. Okay, and Cobra. He was just more subtle about it.

"And now you're naked," Cobra chuckled. "Really, it's kinda freaky when you get lost in your head like that, Belle."

Lucy blinked in surprise and looked down to see that she was, in fact, completely nude. But so was the deliciously tanned Slayer kneeling over her. Slowly, she sat up to kneel in front of him, a shy smile on her lips as he cupped her cheek to bring her closer.

"No bumbling bullshit this time," Cobra whispered against her lips. "I'll die of shame."

"We're not on a table, and I have no access to an iron." Lucy smiled and pressed herself against him, her fingers gliding down to his hips, then curving around to his lower back. "But we're not having sex just yet."

Cobra's eye darkened while Lucy kissed her way down his chest. Her tongue teased the thin trail of maroon hairs that led to his arousal, soft, warm breaths dancing along his flesh. When her half-lidded eyes turned up to him, Cobra found himself breathlessly grasping his cock and pushing past her parted lips. "Fuck…"

Lucy bobbed languidly, her head tilting on each withdrawal. _"Let's play a game."_

Cobra gulped and rocked his hips, a smirk pulling up one corner of his mouth. "What kind of game?"

" _Tell me more about you, and we'll see if you can keep Midnight from hearing anything."_

"You're fuckin' evil," Cobra growled. His eye rolled back a moment later when her cheeks hollowed out, and her lips pressed flush against him. "Shit…"

" _Go on, Cobra."_

"Call me Erik," he whispered. When she blinked and paused, his hand curved around her neck and forced her to keep moving. "I like it... _Mmm_... when you call me Erik."

" _Erik, it is."_

"What do you wanna know?"

" _Everything."_

Oh, he would be more than happy to tell her every little detail of his damn life if she wanted him to, just as long as she kept sucking and teasing him the way she was. It was more than enough to keep him hard, to ease him higher and higher until he could do nothing more than collapse backward onto her bedroll and beg for his release.

"I've got a better idea," he rasped. His hips drew back and he slowly pulled her up. He really wouldn't have an issue finishing in her mouth, even though it would take a while, but there was something else he wanted a whole lot more than a blowjob. There was time for shit like that later on.

His thumb swiped over her bottom lip to get rid of the bit of excess saliva, and he chuckled when he heard her wondering whether or not he liked what she was doing. "I liked it just fine, but I don't think you wanna be down there for an hour trying to get me off."

Lucy pouted as his hands ghosted over her waist. "Shut up," she muttered. Was it her fault that every guy she'd been with before Cobra was more interested in getting laid than a blowjob? No. But it also meant that she hadn't had a whole lot of practice. She was still mostly in the trial and error phase, considering men just never seemed to be willing to tell her what they did and didn't like. It wasn't like she could give someone a damn questionnaire about their blowjob preferences.

 _'I probably scratched him with my teeth…'_

"No, but you might wanna do that when you're down there next time," he rasped. "I'm a sicko."

"So, what's this idea of yours?" That was something she never would have thought to try, and if he was admitting to liking it, then she was all for a little experimentation. Apparently some other time, though, because Cobra clearly wasn't in the oral mood that night.

" _You_ try to keep Midnight from dying of blood loss," Cobra grinned wickedly. "Those nosebleeds of his are hilarious…"

"I'm gonna fail," she giggled. "Bumbling or not, you're gonna make me scream like a banshee."

"Then you," Cobra whispered while pushing her shoulders to turn her around, "Will just have to keep it quiet." She leaned back into him while his hands glided up to cup her breasts. His lips danced along her shoulder as her breaths grew more ragged with each teasing brush of his thumbs over her puckered nipples.

Lucy rolled her hips into him, smiling as he harshly nipped at her ear while his arousal ground against her. If that was what he wanted to do, then she wasn't going to make it easy for him. Then again, she got the feeling that he wasn't going to make it easy for her either.

"Hell no," Cobra growled. "I _want_ you screaming." He parted her legs even further, gasping as Lucy's hand wound around his aching shaft. Between one moment and the next, with his body having gone still from the sounds her soul was making, she pushed back, enveloping him in her heat. "Fuck that's amazing..."

"Pretty much," she whispered, smiling as their bodies pressed flush together. The last and only time, they'd had sex, Cobra had at least given her a moment to adjust. This time was different. Before she had the chance to so much as breathe, his hands were on her shoulders and slamming her down onto the bedroll as he started to move.

Cobra grinned as she muffled a moan with her bedding before rocking back against him. There was nothing better than having her so willingly giving in to his whims, especially when she was reaching back to pull him flush against her back, pinning her down so she couldn't move. Well, if she wanted him to get rough already, then he was more than happy to oblige.

"E-Erik," Lucy gasped. He pressed her body into the ground and a smile crawled onto her lips when she could feel the deep growl rumbling in his chest.

"Go ahead," he hissed into her flushed ear. "Make some noise for me, Belle."

* * *

Midnight sighed while looking out across the darkened camp. There was no point in having a fire to draw attention to themselves, and he knew that he could see well enough in the dark anyway to go without it. Really, they didn't even need to have someone acting as a lookout overnight. If anyone decided to try and ambush them, Cobra would wake up in an instant.

They'd learned as much while Brain was still running their little group of misfits. Someone had been stupid enough to try and sneak up on the Oracion Seis in the middle of the night, and everyone woke up to the sounds of mages being slaughtered by the Poison Dragon Slayer. Or maybe it had been his maniacal cackling. Midnight was so glad Cobra had gotten over that cackling phase. It was fucking creepy.

Jellal figured it out pretty quickly though. Maybe because Cobra had a habit of letting the Heavenly Body mage know he could hear everything.

Still, Midnight was stuck being awake, and there was nothing else for him to do but sit outside. He didn't even bother with setting up a tent for himself in the first place, since the time he would be using it was when everyone else was awake. When they were all on the move.

So, he just sat there and listened to the wildlife around them. And then to the odd shuffle here and there within the other tents. Meredy and Angel, oddly enough, shared a tent. Even though they fought almost constantly during the day, the two women apparently couldn't find it in themselves not to turn into a cuddly bundle of limbs at night.

Racer was fast asleep in the tent he shared with Hoteye. Why those two decided to share a tent in the first place, he honestly didn't know. Then again, Cobra had let slip maybe three weeks prior that those two were spending a lot of time in towns, gathering supplies for the guild. Hoteye just liked shopping though. He'd always been the group's haggler. And Racer had always been his wingman. That was just how it worked.

Jellal was in the middle of his nightly call to Erza while she helped to rebuild the Council. And Cobra… Well, Midnight wasn't sure what Cobra did at night.

He did know that the Poison Slayer had been staying away from Lucy for the most part, even though it was obvious to everyone that he wanted to be closer to her. Midnight really never would have considered Cobra being _that_ into a woman, but after having spent years in the lunatic's presence, it was clear that this was more than just the little obsessions he had from time to time.

Those usually ended in the woman he'd been with winding up dead. Most often by poison. Because, really, Cobra would find something wrong with whoever it was, something he just couldn't deal with, and that would be that.

But their new Celestial mage… She was different, somehow. It was most likely because she was secretly just as batshit crazy as Cobra. Midnight hadn't really spent much time getting to know Lucy, but if anyone could make the Slayer smile the way she had during that first mission, then it was obvious - at least, to him - that she was insane. She just did a better job of hiding it.

Then there was the fact that, while she may have been in the right over it all, she'd attacked him with Real Nightmare. That took some balls. But more than that, Midnight knew a person had to be at least a _little_ detached from their sanity to use it. It was practically a requirement.

" _So, I have something to tell you about Lucy…"_

Midnight rolled his eyes at the way Jellal was making this out to be. He sounded uncomfortable, and while the Midnight could relate that it was probably a little on the nerve-wracking side to tell Titania, one of Lucy's closest friends, that she was now in some odd relationship with the most psychotic person in their fucked up guild, was it really too much to ask for for the guy to have a bit more of a backbone about it?

" _... Did you just say... Cobra?"_

Oh, this was going to be a treat to deal with. Erza sounded ready to slaughter someone. Fabulous.

A low growl hummed in the air, and Midnight's crimson eyes narrowed. Aside from that single visual clue of his attention to his surroundings, he remained completely still.

After several minutes of silence, with Jellal's conversation continuing as though the guild leader hadn't heard a thing, Midnight started to relax. He remained completely aware, but it was highly unlikely that anything was coming to attack them.

" _I'm going to murder him."_

Well, at least, not until Erza found a way to get to their location.

" _Erza, it seems Lucy is happy, so…"_

Midnight rolled his eyes and rummaged through his bag to find his mirror and reapply his makeup. Maybe he could try something a little different. He opened the small compact and checked to see if there was really anything that needed a touch-up, then frowned as he noticed the slight shudder in the tent behind him.

It wasn't anything new, to be honest. Lucy had nightmares nearly every night. She was quiet about it, sure, but they still happened. And she thrashed like no other around two or three in the morning before waking up a panting mess.

It was too early for her to be in the middle of one, though. That much he knew. If anyone would know about a nightmare, it was him.

A quiet whimper drifted through the darkness. The sound of a bedroll shifting followed quickly afterward.

He was ready to just write it off as the beginning of an especially horrible dream for Lucy, until he heard something else.

" _Erik…"_

Now that was something Midnight really didn't need. He could deal with hearing her struggle during a nightmare, but this? Really?

She just _had_ to be having a wet dream, and moaning in her sleep. Luckily for her, it was about Cobra - although, why she knew his real name, Midnight still wasn't clear on - because if it had been anyone else's name spilling from her lips and sounding like that, he was sure their newest guild member would end up on the end of a pike and thrown off a cliff.

' _No, wait… He did that to the last one,'_ Midnight thought. _'Then again, she did tell him that she put her two-year-old son up for adoption to be with him…'_

Cobra had rules concerning how he killed people. Like, never repeating the same method. With the exception of using his poison, or when he had orders to kill someone. It had caused him to get rather inventive over the years; otherwise, he would have gotten bored. And a bored Cobra was never a good thing.

It had been terrifying to find him dissecting living vulcans the last time he'd been bored.

" _Fuck…"_

Midnight nearly groaned in frustration, glaring at the tent directly in front of him. Damn Cobra. If the idiot would just get over whatever it was holding him back from Lucy, then maybe… _just maybe_ … Midnight would be able to get some peace.

Sure, he'd probably have to deal with the unholy sight of her being wrapped up in his psychopathic best friend's arms on a regular basis, but that wouldn't be so bad. He had no interest in her, himself, and Cobra was sworn to secrecy (whether he would keep it a secret was still up for debate, because Cobra had never actually promised he would) on just _who_ Midnight had his sights set on, but that didn't mean he had to like what he was forced to witness.

Cobra being openly affectionate was just one more sign that Lucy was different. The others before her had never gotten that much attention in the open, and they'd seemed to be fine with it. Hell, Lucy seemed to be fine with the oddly cold shoulder she'd been getting. But that probably had something to do with the rings that the two were _still_ wearing.

But, that first night, after Crime Sorciere had regrouped and had quite the laugh over everyone overhearing the two having sex, Cobra was like a different person. Sort of.

He'd kept his arm around Lucy, kept her close, kissed her cheek and even a couple times on the lips. He'd shown no remorse whatsoever for what he was doing, and didn't seem to care that anyone else was seeing it. And everyone but Meredy had known better than to make a comment when Cobra noticed Lucy's knees were bandaged and started lightly massaging around them for her.

Of course, Meredy's comments were just about the cuteness, and Angel had done a splendid job of shutting her up pretty quickly.

The very next morning, however, both Cobra and Lucy had been right back to the way they were before the ball. Arguing, trading barbs, and just being themselves.

" _Mmm… Mmnah…"_

Well, at least Lucy was relatively quiet about her nocturnal fantasies. Quieter than Meredy, thankfully. That horrendous experience had lasted all of fifteen minutes before Angel promptly woke up and punched the living daylights out of her.

" _Erza, really. You don't need to come check on her…"_

Now, if only Midnight could find a way to deal with Jellal being a fucking idiot and telling Erza anything about Cobra and Lucy…

His gaze drifted back to Cobra's tent. If anyone would have an idea of what to do, it would be him. Hell, the Infinity Clock had happened because of the Poison Slayer's obsession with reading up on torture. Midnight never would have hatched the scheme in the first place if it hadn't been for Cobra showing him the book it was in.

He carefully set his makeup to the side and stood to stretch his legs, then silently made his way around the smothered fire to see if he could interrupt whatever the hell Cobra was up to in his tent.

Hopefully without being poisoned.

* * *

Cobra rolled so she was lying on top of him, her back to his chest and her legs spread wide. His jaw locked onto Lucy's shoulder to keep himself silent. Really, he was surprised that she'd gone this long without crying out. Sure, a little had slipped past her lips, but from hearing Midnight outside of their tent, it wasn't enough for the bastard to get the picture.

Lucy bit her lips as his teeth finally withdrew from her shoulder.

"You're bleeding," he rasped, smoothing his tongue over the deep punctures in her flesh. The way she shuddered against him had his eye flashing with intrigue. His hands grasped her thighs, and he pulled just a little further, growling low in his throat when he heard the pain from stretching more than she was used to melding with the pleasure that rocked her body in time with his.

"E-Erik…"

He gasped as her fingers sunk into his hair, instantly seeking the pointed tips of his ears. "Don't," he hissed, wrapping his lips around the bite mark he'd left and roughly sucking more blood from her.

" _You like it…"_

Really, that was beside the point. Okay, he could admit that it _was_ the point, since she was trying just as hard to get him to make a noise that would alert Midnight to what they were doing. But that shit just wasn't fair. "I said don't," he panted, his pace quickening and his grip on her legs tightening. It was more difficult than he'd imagined, trying to keep their skin from slapping together. That would defeat the purpose of their little game.

" _I bet you love it,"_ Lucy silently told him. _"So sensitive, Erik…"_ Her back arched and her eyes widened as his hand wound around her throat. She could feel his power radiating just under his skin, not just his magic, but his own physical strength. The grip on her airways was loose, but slowly tightening with each thrust.

"And I know just what you really want from me," he growled into her sweaty hair. His hand tightened around her throat just a fraction, and he grinned when her body went rigid from an intoxicating mixture of instinctive fear and carnal anticipation.

Lucy gasped as he withdrew and laid her out on her back in one swift motion. His hand never left her throat, his eye glimmered with dark promises, and his wicked grin very nearly glowed in the darkened tent. Instead of pushing back into her, she felt his shaft pinned between them, how his hips rocked to tease her relentlessly. _"Don't… Don't tease me..."_

"But you like it," he whispered. From the way Lucy's body arched into him, he knew she did. His eye rolled back when she gripped his hair and pulled him down into a melting kiss. Her soul thrashed, nearly screeching with the level of her arousal, but that didn't matter to him. Normally, it would have.

He just couldn't bring himself to care when her hands slid down and her thumbs brushed over his ears again. Lucy had found his weakness, and she was going to exploit it. And damn it all to hell, he wanted her to. It didn't mean he was going to give up so easily, though. No, he was going to make sure Lucy was the one that broke first.

' _Huh, Cobra's not in his tent… Maybe he went out to get poison?'_

Cobra gasped as Lucy's hips suddenly shifted and he drove into her without warning. "F-Fuck," he hissed. "How-" A low groan left him as Lucy's lips captured his, her teeth biting harshly at them. So hard that he was sure she was going to draw blood. His hips snapped forward when she sucked, hard, and the pain in his lower lip zipped down to the base of his spine. It pooled there, melded with his growing desire.

Midnight's footsteps paused in walking back to his original spot when the walls to Lucy's tent shuddered slightly.

" _Don't get distracted. You pause a little when you're listening in on someone,"_ Lucy silently told the Slayer as he sneered down at her. A smile pulled at her lips when his pace quickened, his hips slamming into hers, and his hand tightening around her throat again.

"I'll show you distracted," he spat. "You want me to choke the life out of you?" Fuck, seeing her eyes flash with excitement shouldn't have turned him on so fucking much. But then one of her hands left his hair, closed over his around her throat, and made him squeeze harder. She could still breathe - he was trying to be careful and not fucking kill her - but that encouragement had him becoming ravenous.

She was crazy, just like he was. She wanted his darkness, encouraged it. Someone so damn pure wanted _him_.

"Mm… Yes," Lucy whimpered breathlessly. "E-Erik…"

"That's it," he panted. "Scream for me."

His hand left her throat to roughly grab her hair and wrench her head back, and a wicked grin split his lips as Lucy's voice cracked on her next sharp inhale. He could practically hear her teeth grinding while she tried to keep her pleasure hidden, smelled the sweet scent of her tears as they dotted her lashes, swirling with the intoxicating aroma of her arousal in the hot air of the tent.

But he wanted more from her. So much more. And he was damn well going to get it from her. Because for two weeks, Cobra had been able to do nothing but dream of how she'd screamed his name. He kept picturing her wide, soulful, _alive_ eyes looking down at him before she'd crested that peak into euphoria. And he wanted to see it again. To feel her tightening around his cock, milking him dry, how she would clutch herself to him once again.

"C'mon, Belle. Scream for your Beast," he growled, biting his way down from her ear to the hollow of her neck and shoulder.

He'd expected any number of things from Lucy, but the last thing Cobra had imagined her doing was using one hand to pull his head back up for her lips to lock onto his ear. "Oh, shit," he whimpered, his arms forcing their way under her body to bar around her and bring her closer. "Stop th - ah…"

The nails on her free hand raked roughly down his back as her body bowed into him, tearing open his old scars and making the Poison Slayer roar in pained ecstasy.

"Fuck! O-Oh fuck!" Her quiet moan vibrated through the lobe she was biting, causing his fingers to dig into her supple flesh while his moans finally escaped him unbidden. "Fuck, it hurts…" She clawed at him again and Cobra's eye rolled back while he roughly kneaded her supple flesh. "S-So good! Shit!"

Not a moment later, her own louder moan accompanied his as she clutched herself tightly to him. Now that he'd been the one to break, she could finally let out just how much he was affecting her. "Erik… F-Fuck me har - Oh _god_ , yes!"

Their ragged breathing filled the tent, his sweat and hers melding between their writhing bodies, leaving Lucy breathless as she ascended that peak into bliss.

Cobra's eye locked onto hers as the first echoes of euphoria trilled deep within her. He didn't want to be quiet anymore. He wanted her to hear it all, to know that he loved feeling her around him. Her fingers dug into the scratches on his back, causing a low groan to quickly become a final roar of completion.

His hips snapped one last time, and his body shuddered with each pulse of his climax. He couldn't get enough of how she used him as an anchor to keep her grounded while riding the waves of her release, or how her soul still sounded like a choir of fucking angels, just like he remembered.

"Fuck, Belle," he panted against her lips. "G-Goddamnit, you…"

"I win," Lucy moaned, grinning when he collapsed on top of her.

"Seriously?!" Midnight shouted. "That's where you were?! Wake up the whole damn forest, why don't you!"

"Fuck off, Midnight," Cobra snarled weakly, his voice muffled by the blonde's shoulder. "I'll poison your ass so fucking…" He hissed when Lucy's fingertips lightly brushed over his back. He had to be bleeding for it to hurt like that. "Don't do that, beautiful…"

Lucy moved her hands and pushed Cobra's hair away from his face. His only eye was pressed against her chest, so there was no way he could see her. And it really wasn't all that important to move his hair so he could see, if all she could see of his face was his scar. "Sorry, Midnight," she called out.

"Bastards," the Reflector mage muttered. "I'm surrounded by a bunch of assholes."

"Don't forget a tissue for your nose," Lucy said, laughing again when she felt Cobra grinning against her shoulder.

"I hate you guys," Midnight sighed.

"That's my girl," he whispered.

"Sorry about your back." She winced when pulling her hands back, noticing that she'd cut into him more than she'd really intended by the blood dotting her fingertips.

"You're good," he sighed. He wasn't going to mention the fact that, if it hadn't been _her_ , he would have ripped her head off for making him bleed like that. But really, he'd made her bleed, so it was only fair. He wasn't sure just what Lucy was doing to him, because Cobra had never really cared about _fair_ before when he was with a woman.

"Well, when you're capable of moving, lay down and I'll clean it up, okay?"

The last thing Lucy had expected was for the Poison Slayer to nod and simply curl himself around her just a little more. She didn't think he would be much for post-coital cuddling. Hell, he hadn't even tried kissing her in the past two weeks. She had, of course, taken her cue from him, and just continued acting as though nothing had happened between them. The only change had been her sudden penchant for grabbing his calloused hands while they were sitting around. If it hadn't been for the ring on his finger, she would have thought she'd dreamt it all up.

Cobra frowned at the sudden shift in her thoughts, and it only deepened when he heard the nearly silent echo in her soul that made his gut twist painfully.

' _Don't get your hopes up, stupid. Everyone leaves you behind. You're not worth his time, so don't let yourself get attached. Why would he want to be with you? Couldn't even keep Aquar-'_

"Stop that," Cobra whispered. He slowly lifted his head, his brows drawing together when he saw the empty smile sitting on her lips. "What-"

"I think that's a bit too heavy for post-coital conversation," Lucy whispered, throwing his own words back at him from two weeks before, and pressing her fingers to his lips.

He scowled and slowly rolled off the blonde, lying on his side while she carefully sat up and started rummaging through her bag. "You don't need to do anything."

Lucy shook her head, a tired laugh leaving her as she turned back around with an alcohol pad in her hand. "I do. Just let me clean you up."

Cobra rolled his eye and laid down on his stomach, then rested his chin on his arms. An unconscious hiss escaped him when she pressed the alcohol pad to his back, and he growled for only a moment before reining himself back in.

Lucy's eyes softened considerably while she took in the crossing scars running all along his back, then the three long gashes from her nails that cut through several of them. After a couple minutes, once she was sure the bleeding had stopped, Lucy found herself mindlessly tracing the raised flesh.

He sighed in defeat when she pulled her hands away as though she'd been burned. But he already knew that Lucy was just starting to question herself even more concerning what was between the two of them. The only problem was that Cobra, himself, wasn't entirely sure. He knew that he wanted more with Lucy than he'd ever let himself consider with anyone else. An actual relationship, of some sort. More than just the quick fuck here or there, or his odd little obsessions that tended to take root when he was getting bored.

Those women were garbage to begin with, and he already knew that it was something about their souls that had him itching to eventually kill them. He couldn't explain it, though.

But with Lucy… Her soul was just what he needed to hear more often than not. Calm. Soothing. Gentle. Well, except when she was upset about something. Then it turned into the most static-filled, migraine-inducing clusterfuck of too many things to deal with at once.

Slowly, he looked over his shoulder at her, watching the way she tucked the little pad away to throw out later on. She didn't even think about treating the few bites he'd left on her. It was almost as though she was just trying to prolong the inevitable. Like she was trying to avoid him leaving her tent right then, now that he'd gotten what he came for.

When he thought about it, that was exactly what she was doing. Except, he'd told her from the get-go - really, when he'd come into her tent earlier that night - that he wanted _something_ with her. They hadn't really defined it though. Well, technically they did. As far as he was concerned, they were engaged. Lucy hadn't taken the ring off once in the past two weeks, and neither had he. It just didn't sit right with him, not having it there.

"Belle," Cobra whispered, his lips curling into a playful smile when she froze with her back to him. "Get your ass down here."

"Huh?" Lucy blinked, turning to look at him.

"C'mere," he chuckled. He reached over, wrapping an arm around her waist, and quickly dragged her back to the bedroll.

"Erik!" Lucy giggled, fighting to keep her voice down. "What are you doing?"

"What do you say to giving Meredy a coronary?" he asked. He gently kissed her hair as he pulled the blanket over the two of them. Thankfully, it was summer, which meant that they didn't really need it to keep warm. The thing wasn't really suited to cover two people all that well, and it was something he would be sure to remedy before it started getting too cold out.

"Well, Midnight didn't die of blood loss," she said. "So, I guess we _should_ move on to the next victim."

"Then you don't mind having me stay?" he asked with a smirk.

"S-Stay?"

"Yep, stay. Here. With you."

Lucy's cheeks flamed and her eyes widened. "You… Y-You wanna… Here? B-But…"

"God, I love how articulate you are," he laughed. It took everything in him not to yelp in surprise when she pinched his nipple as revenge for teasing her. Instead, he made himself comfortable and pulled the blonde's back to his chest, then wrapped his arms around her.

The fact that she fit so perfectly in his embrace should have made him want to crush her. Instead, his lips puckered on her scalp as a contented sigh left him. "I have literally no fucks to give about anyone else," he whispered. "My default is two. One of those fucks is perpetually for my selfish ass. And you got the other one, so… The others can say whatever the hell they want-"

"Wait, how did _I_ get the other fuck?" Lucy giggled.

He reached down and laced his fingers with hers in the dark, then lifted their joined hands and kissed their rings. "Pretty sure my fiancèe should get my other fuck," he grinned.

"You're never letting it go, are you…"

"Nope. It's not every day I get someone like _you_ proposing. I'm not letting it go if I can help it."

She smiled secretly, even though she knew that Cobra was probably fully aware of it, and lightly squeezed the hand holding hers. "You're kinda sweet sometimes, Erik."

"Purely unintentional," he chuckled. "But, I did agree not to lie, so… Take what you can get, I suppose."

"You won't, um… Nevermind."

His arms tightened around her and he shifted to press a soft kiss to her cheek, then her lips when she turned to look at him. "I'm not disappearing in the middle of the night," he assured her. "You don't know this about me, but… When I find something I like, I have a hard time letting it go… Like, willing to end the world with a metallic, tick-tocking guppy because it's gone, level crazy."

"You wouldn't Infinity again for me," she laughed. Her smile faltering when he gave her a blank stare in return. "You… You wouldn't do that, right?"

He silently kissed her again and lowered his head to run his tongue over the bleeding bite on her shoulder. There was no way in hell he would let it get infected, and no matter how toxic most people thought his mouth was, he'd actually come to realize that he had fucking disinfectant spit when he wasn't trying to poison someone. Plus, and he wasn't going to admit it unless she asked, he _really_ liked how sweet her blood tasted.

Vampire jokes aside - most of which were already rolling around in her skull - it was the truth. She tasted fucking delicious. Her blood mixed with a little of her sweat, plus some of his own sweat that had gotten on her while they rolled around. Fucking delectable.

"Erik? Tell me you're fucking with me…" Several seconds of silence stretched to minutes and Lucy stared at their hands that were still clasped, then the scars around his wrists. Surely, he had to be joking. No way in hell would she garner that intense of a reaction from Cobra after only a couple weeks.

There was absolutely no way.

"Erik?"

"Hm?"

"Are you going to answer my question, now?"

"Which one?" he yawned, finally pulling away from her shoulder when he realized it was starting to clot.

"About the Clock…"

"No."

"No, you won't answer? Or… No, you wouldn't do it?"

"..." Cobra simply laid his head down. He let go of her hand and shifted just enough to pull her leg a little higher, then started carefully massaging the sore muscles surrounding her knee. Maybe she would need to get it looked at. He was honestly surprised that she hadn't had Wendy use her magic on it, but that wasn't an option any longer.

"Erik?"

"Goodnight, Belle," he yawned again, smirking as he pulled her just a fraction of an inch closer. When he felt her sighing while settling in to spend the rest of the night in his arms, Cobra couldn't stop the content grin that spread across his lips. It didn't take her long to fall asleep, and he spent a good while just holding her, trying to stop her knee from hurting, and hoping that maybe… just maybe… this wouldn't end in disaster.

Because for the first time in a long while, he didn't want to kill a woman in his arms. He wanted her forever.


	5. 2016 - Lunacy, Part 2

**A/N: We've come to the last chapter for the 2016 entry. After this, you'll just have to wait until Day 4 of CoLu Week 2017. For those of you who are also following the CoLu 2017 story entry, you** _ **will**_ **get an update about two hours after this story is updated on Day 4. It's literally a placeholder page, letting anyone who isn't following all of my stories (or this one) know where to find the Day 4 prompt, since it won't be posted with the other CoLu Week entries, but in this story.**

 **I hope that makes sense.**

 **At any rate, I really hope you all enjoy this. I've had so much fun updating and revising these, and it seriously makes me so damn happy to know that those of you who have read these prompts before (several times, even) are really loving the additions I'm making. It's given me the confidence I've been lacking lately, so thank you so much for that.**

 **Also, for those of you who have read the original version, you'll notice a very big difference this time around. Added scenes that, I think, give the story more depth that it was lacking on the first go round. This half of the 2016 entry was originally about 9900 words... It's grown to almost 18k without notes, so... I've definitely made some additions! Haha!**

 **I will ask you to remember that this is set just after Tartaros and, with that in mind, that there are things we know from the manga in the Alvarez Arc that were** _ **not**_ **known in** _ **this**_ **time period. It's important to keep that distinction in mind when reading about the older arcs, so… I'll just leave it at that.**

 **Alright, enough of my rambling. Let's get on with this!**

* * *

 _ **2016 - Excuses, Part 2**_

 _ **Lunacy**_

* * *

"So, he finally did something about it?" Meredy yawned as she sat down by the newly lit fire. With her blanket around her shoulders to combat the early morning fog, she looked around to the other members of the guild. Usually everyone was up and milling about while Midnight made breakfast, then they would have a little time before breaking camp and heading out toward their next destination.

Except Cobra and Lucy were still asleep, and Midnight wasn't bothering to cook just yet.

"Yes," Midnight yawned. The sun wasn't even up yet, but he was already feeling the effects of his magic draining a little. He was just happy that he could still _use_ his magic during the day. It just wasn't as strong as it could be. "Although, how much of something I'm not sure."

"And they're still sleeping? So cute."

"I don't know if they're in her tent still. I didn't see him leave it, but I also never saw him leaving his own."

"Sneaky," Racer chuckled.

"Oh, wouldn't it be so cute if they were just cuddling?"

"Meredy, why don't you grab a camera and get a picture?" Angel asked, smirking while stealing part of her blanket to combat the chill in the air. "It'll be great."

"I don't have a death wish. If I interrupt, there will be poison everywhere. Or I'll go deaf."

"Or Lucy will kick you again," Racer snickered.

"Are we sure he didn't…" Hoteye paused and winced, glancing at Lucy's tent. "You know what."

"Well, I'm pretty sure he didn't." Angel shrugged. "It hasn't been long enough for that."

Jellal frowned as he walked out of his tent, still only wearing his pants and a long sleeve midnight blue shirt that had a picture of cake on the bottom hem. "Long enough for what?"

"Well, there was that one," Racer sighed. "First day, he killed her."

"Yeah, then a couple more times, they didn't get past sex before he killed them," Midnight mused. "I think he snapped one's neck _while_ they were fucking. Stopped right before she actually died, but he may have finished on her face… Or, maybe he came _when_ she died… I can't remember."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Jellal asked, feeling much more alert.

"Oh, you didn't know?" Angel crooned. "Cobra's got a habit of killing the women he's involved with."

"He's quite the black widow," Midnight chuckled.

"This isn't funny," Jellal scowled. "He's with one of our guildmates."

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Angel said with a wave of her hand. "Cobra's insane, but I doubt he'll actually kill Lucy."

"He will not have the chance."

Everyone's eyes widened as Erza's commanding voice sounded in the little glen they'd stopped to rest in. She didn't spare Jellal a glance as she stormed over to the tent that she knew was Lucy's based on the familiar, singed markings on the entrance flap. There hadn't been a point in repairing them, and Lucy had simply purchased a ward that stopped the use of magic within the confines of her tent.

She nearly tore the stitching that held the flap to the tent, and her blood boiled when she saw Lucy sprawled across Cobra. Her pale skin starkly contrasted his caramel. Scratches and bite marks were clearly visible on her neck and shoulders.

Lucy's eyes shot open as she was ripped from Cobra's warm embrace and dragged out of her tent. A quick flash of red, the familiar feel of a gauntlet-covered hand around her waist as she was thrown over a shoulder, let her know exactly who it was.

"Erza, put me down!" she shrieked.

Midnight choked as Lucy was carried toward the fire, and was gifted with the sight of her bare ass. He wasn't even ashamed of the fact that he collapsed while his nose began to pour blood. Really, dying of blood loss was a much better way to go than Cobra finding out he'd seen Lucy naked. That was the last thing he needed.

The rest of Crime Sorciere laughed quietly as Midnight began twitching on the ground, but Jellal was well and truly stuck on what to do. On the one hand, he wanted to laugh at the unholy level of protection Erza felt her friend needed; it was pretty endearing that she cared so much. On the other hand, he was sure this would come back to bite him in the ass. It was only made worse when Lucy was set on her feet by the fire.

"Erza, what in the actual fuck-" Lucy's words were cut off by a breastplate slamming into her cheek.

"You're safe now," Erza said. "Just allow me to punish Cobra for sullying your honor, and-"

The other mages present could only watch Lucy push Erza away from her with a wicked scowl. "Erza!" she shouted. "Shut the fuck up!"

Erza's lips parted and her brows pushed together in confusion. "Lucy…"

"You don't get to just come in here and decide what I will and won't do, or who I'll spend my time with. And I quite literally have _no_ fucking patience for your stupid, fucked up brand of _caring_ right now!"

Meredy leaned over to Angel, her eyes wide as she whispered, "Does she even realize she's naked?"

"Lucy, I heard that you and Cobra were… together… I just assumed-"

"What? That I was somehow coerced into it? I mean, technically, yes, because we're _technically_ engaged and that was only because of the mission, and he won't drop the whole 'you proposed to me, so we're engaged now for real' thing, but that's really not the point-"

"I don't think so," Angel whispered back, keeping her eyes on Lucy as her hands fisted on her bare hips.

"He thinks they're engaged?" Racer whispered to Hoteye. "Wow, she's got nothing to worry about then."

"The point is," Lucy continued, "That you have no right to come here and rip me out of my goddamn tent, with my fiancè, when I was finally sleeping peacefully for a change because I wasn't having a nightmare about what happened during Tartaros, because he made me feel safe!"

Erza shook her head slowly, her mouth opening and closing while she tried to find something to say. "L-Lucy, I… How can you feel safe with someone like him?"

"Because he listens to me!" Lucy shrieked. "He's funny, and he's sweet when he wants to be, and mostly when he doesn't mean to be, but it just comes out that way, and he actually cares about what I say or what's going on in my head, and - goddamnit, I don't have to explain myself to you!"

"Lucy, I don't understand," Erza said, her brows drawing together. "Jellal said-"

"Well, _Jellal_ should learn to keep his mouth shut and mind his own fucking business!"

"Lucy, this isn't like you." She took a tentative step forward while placing a gentle hand on Lucy's arm only for it to get smacked away.

"No! You don't get to touch me, and you don't get to say what is and isn't like me! You don't even know me anymore!"

"What? Lucy…"

"You all fucking _left_ me!"

"We would _never_ -"

"You kinda did," Angel interjected, raising a condescending brow when Erza's head whipped in her direction. The deathly glare she received did nothing whatsoever. Cobra's was definitely worse when he was in one of his moods. "Lucy stayed in Magnolia until everyone else was gone. None of you cared about what she lost during that whole Tartaros thing, and no one asked if she was alright or where she was going."

"Because Natsu-"

"Natsu left before the guild even disbanded," Lucy spat. "And how long have you known I was here with them? You're only just now coming to see me, but _only_ because you think Cobra's going to hurt me?"

"Well, I've been busy with-"

"Right," she sneered. "Too busy to call and just catch up when you made sure I bought a lacrima before you left Magnolia. Just in case of an emergency, you said. So we could stay in touch, you said. You call your blueberry sherbet _fucksicle_ of a boyfriend over here every night. Couldn't spare two minutes to even say hi. Go fuck yourself, Erza."

There was a pregnant pause before Lucy's tent rustled, and everyone's eyes were drawn to the head of tousled, deep maroon hair that peeked out. Cobra rubbed his eye with his fist, a small pout on his lips while he tried to focus his tired brain long enough to speak. "Belle, come back to bed," he mumbled. No one was going to comment on the fact that Cobra nearly sounded like he was whining. "I want more cuddles…"

"Gimme a goddamn minute, Erik!" she bellowed, still glaring at Erza.

He frowned and opened his eye when the sudden screeching in her soul reached him, then scowled once he caught sight of Erza. "Why the fuck are you naked, outside?"

Angel winced at the sight of Cobra's glare. How his brow lowered and his eye burned with rage. He'd been kind of precious only moments before, but that look in his eye really didn't spell anything good coming in the future. She knew he was a bit possessive when it came to relationships, they all were in their own ways. Angel, herself, was a jealous bitch and she knew it, but it was because of how they'd been raised by Brain. They'd all accepted it.

Was it healthy? No, not in the slightest. Were they working on it? Well, she really didn't care either way. Midnight had admitted that he was figuring it out, sort of. Racer and Hoteye… Well, they were sorting out their issues together, she supposed.

But Cobra. He took things to a new level. He wasn't an abusive man. He wasn't even very open with his affections. He was, however, prone to hoarding and had developed the very nasty - and bloody - habit of murdering people when he thought they were trying to take something from him. Or someone.

And when it came to a woman he was interested in… He really didn't like it when someone else saw them in a state of undress. Of any sort. That had almost gotten Midnight killed once before, but that was mostly because he'd been on top of the woman Cobra had been sleeping with at the time.

"Because I was trying to be naked _inside_ the tent, and someone decided that I needed to show my goodies to the whole fucking guild," Lucy huffed. "And I have no fucks to give about it right now."

"Huh," Meredy mumbled. "I guess she _does_ know she's naked…"

His eye narrowed and he disappeared back into the tent to tug on his pants, then stormed out with the blanket he and Lucy had been using the night before. Giving Erza a rough shove to the side, he wrapped it around Lucy and pulled her into his arms. The fact that she was on the verge of crying was definitely not how he'd planned on waking up. And really, he had no idea why he hadn't woken up sooner. It was most likely because that was hands down the best night of sleep he'd ever gotten, and he'd wanted it to continue.

"This isn't gonna end well," Racer cringed as Jellal stood and made his way over to the little group that now had a snarling Poison Slayer in the mix.

"Erza," Jellal sighed, taking her hand in his. "I told you that she seemed happy."

"Yes, but what was this I heard about Cobra killing the women he's involved with?" she whispered. "There are rumors about it, but… It really happens, doesn't it…"

Cobra's jaw tightened when Lucy went rigid for a moment before completely melting into his embrace in weariness. Oh, Titania was more than fucking dead. Lucy didn't need to know about that. It was bad enough that Midnight had almost spilled the fucking beans two weeks prior, but he'd been hoping that he could avoid her knowing about it at all.

Like fucking hell would it just blow over with Lucy. She was going to want answers, and he really did _not_ want to give them to her. Ever. Not about that.

"Back to bed," he whispered. When she nodded, he slowly turned her back toward the tent, then paused to glare at Jellal and Erza.

"Cobra, don't," Jellal said.

"Belle, go lay down," Cobra growled. "I'll be there in a-"

' _I don't want him to let go… I need him… We'll talk about that later… Please, don't let go. Don't leave me… I don't want to be alone right now. Not now… Don't make me go away...'_

"I won't let go," he whispered. His grip around her waist tightened slightly, pulling her closer while Lucy buried her face in his chest.

Jellal sighed and dropped his head in resignation as a malicious gleam rose in Cobra's eye once it returned to Erza. This wasn't going to be good. He could probably stop it, but-

"Titania, I'm gonna tell you this now," Cobra said softly, just loud enough for her, Jellal, and Lucy to hear. "There's no safer place for her than with me. You might care about her, but you fucked up more with her than me and the Seis ever could have with that Infinity shit. She had no expectations of us, except that we were her enemies. In fact, her expectations of us were just what we did. But you…" He let out a quiet, dark chuckle. "You and your _family_ in Fairy Tail ditched her. She expected more out of you all, and you took it for granted."

"I-"

"I'm not finished," Cobra growled. "Do you have _any_ idea how rude it is to cut someone off during a lecture?"

Erza scowled and paused in taking a step forward when a small tendril of poison leaked from between his clenched teeth.

"You can sit on your high horse all you fucking want, but Belle wants to be here, with us. With me. Yes, I've killed every woman I've ever been with, but even _that_ isn't enough to have her pull away. She didn't know about it until you brought it up, but look where she is right now…"

Erza's eyes locked onto Lucy's teary ones as the blonde stayed in his arms. Was that true? She hadn't known that about him, and she was still letting him touch her? This wasn't right. It couldn't be right. Erza knew Lucy, and this wasn't the sort of person she was.

"You don't know her anymore, so the next time you decide to pretend to care about someone… Don't. Just stick to what you're good at."

"Cobra," Jellal said in warning. "That's more than enough."

Cobra's smirk widened into a feral grin and he leaned just a little closer to the silently fuming Requip mage. "All you'll ever be good at is getting your friends hurt," he hissed. "Or killed. So, you leave my fiancèe alone for good, before she ends up like everyone else you try to 'help'." He listened just a little closer, his eye flashing wickedly. "You wouldn't want her to end up like Simon, would you, you little bitch?"

Erza gasped, her eyes widening. "Y-You…"

Cobra turned to find Jellal glaring at him, and shrugged. "Fuck you, Slave Driver. Break camp whenever you want. We're staying here for a bit."

"You're coming with us," Jellal frowned. "We'll need both of you to-"

"Fuck. You," Cobra spat. "We'll go when we want to fucking go." The two stared at one another for a long while before Jellal finally sighed and turned to look at Erza again. "C'mon, Belle. Let's lay down."

Once they were back in Lucy's tent, and Jellal had led Erza a little further into the woods to talk, the rest of Crime Sorciere sat in silence with their mouths hanging open.

Midnight shook his head, having regained his composure as Cobra had made his way out of the tent. "I, um…" That had been the last thing he'd expected to hear from the Slayer concerning Lucy. "Wow…"

"He's never acted like that before," Angel whispered. "Cobra's really serious about her."

"Yes," Hoteye said with a smile. "It… doesn't look like he'll be killing Lucy. Thank goodness…"

"Is no one going to mention Cobra saying he wanted to cuddle?" Racer asked.

"Damn," Midnight whispered, shaking his head. "Wait, did he come out here shirtless?"

"Yeah," Angel said, and her eyes widened unnaturally. "H-He did…"

"So?" Meredy asked. "What's wrong with that?"

"It means he actually took his shirt off with Lucy around," Midnight supplied. "He never does that. The most you'll see of him, usually, is his arms. But that's only after he's used his scales and his sleeves have disintegrated."

"Why-"

"Scars," Angel said sadly. "From being tortured in the Tower of Heaven. Cobra got it worse than any of us. No one knows why…"

"He doesn't like people seeing them though," Racer sighed.

"And I know for a fact that he never lets women see his scars," Midnight added. "I've walked in on him a few times, and he's always got a shirt on."

Meredy smiled serenely while looking toward Lucy's tent. "They're going to make the most beautiful babies."

* * *

"Jellal, I don't understand this at all," Erza said where she sat on a fallen log. "What could make her think this is okay?"

He let out a quiet sigh and took a seat beside her. They were alone for the first time in a long while, and still, he couldn't do what he really wanted. What they both wanted. But that needed to wait, because he understood Erza's unease over the whole thing. Except, he'd only just found out about Cobra's "little habit" just before she'd arrived, so he didn't have any answers. He wished more than anything that he could put her fears to rest though.

"I don't know," he said. "What you told me about Fairy Tail dissolving doesn't sound anything like what was said back there. You said Makarov decided to disband the guild."

"He did," she said. "We tried to argue, but Master said that the decision was final. We couldn't do anything about it. Those demons destroyed the guild hall, most of Magnolia, and suddenly… We didn't have Fairy Tail anymore either."

He frowned and gently pulled her hand into his. If the atmosphere had been lighter, he would have enjoyed how her gauntlet disappeared, how he could feel the calluses on her fingertips from years of honing her swordsmanship and strength.

"What did Angel mean?" she whispered. "About what Lucy lost? I know her fight with Jackal was difficult, but she never said anything."

Jellal's frown deepened and his gaze settled on the confusion knit between her brows. "She never told you?"

"I didn't think there was anything to tell," she said. "We all suffered in the war. But no one talked about the details. There wasn't time to… Well, with what Master had said, we were supposed to move on, so…"

"She told Angel about it last week," he said. "Angel and Cobra just come back from meeting one of his old informants, and Lucy took her off to the side. She said it was important. Angel told the rest of us after Lucy went to sleep that night."

Erza's lips thinned to a line while she waited for him to continue. She would be patient though. Because she needed to know what had happened to make Lucy change so suddenly. She hadn't been like this before, when they were still a team. Yes, she was loud when it came to Natsu and Gray, and Lucy did have a bit of a temper. But she'd never yelled at a friend like that before. She'd never been so… hateful.

"Angel said that Lucy broke one of her keys," Jellal finally said.

"But her keys are supposed to be indestructible," Erza said. "Lucy told us that herself a long time ago." She'd always loved listening to the passion in Lucy's voice while talking about her magic. That had been one of her finest qualities, in Erza's mind. Her passion.

"I guess they're not."

If she'd broken a key, how could they find a way to fix it? Clearly that was what had Lucy so upset. Had she tried asking one of her spirits if there was some way to do it?

"Erza, Angel said that Lucy sacrificed a spirit to help everyone."

"What do you mean, 'sacrificed'?"

"From what Lucy told her, once a key is broken, that's it. The spirit is gone," he said. "She was kind of freaked out though, because Lucy wasn't crying. Angel said she looked like she wanted to cry, but she wasn't."

That was unacceptable though, and Erza knew it. She had to go back and talk to Lucy. Cobra couldn't keep her shielded from everyone. And he couldn't stop her from talking to her friend, from making her see that things were alright. _They_ were alright. Everyone had survived the war, and no one had come out unscathed, but the important thing was that they were still alive.

They'd defeated the demons, and sometimes sacrifices needed to be made. Sometimes there was just no other way.

Erza understood that, and she already knew that there was no way to feel what Lucy was feeling. Just as there was no way for Lucy to feel her own pain from what had happened. Just like none of them could even begin to imagine the kind of torment Laxus and the Raijinshuu had gone through from Tempester's Anti-Magic Particles. But she could still be there for her in some way. They were still friends, even though they weren't in the same guild any longer.

"I need to speak to Lucy," Erza said. "We can-"

He grasped her hand more tightly before she could move to stand. "Erza."

"No, Jellal," she said. "I have to talk to her."

"And say what? That you understand that Tartaros hurt all of you? Are you going to tell her what Kyouka did to you?"

Erza went silent, falling still as her gaze shifted to the ground. She hadn't wanted anyone to know about that. Mira knew some of it, because they'd worked together at one point in the war. She'd seen firsthand what Kyouka's curse could do. But Jellal was the only one she'd told every detail to. The last time they'd been able to get some time alone, she'd allowed herself a moment of weakness, and simply curled up in his arms and cried. Somehow she'd made it through an explanation, but he hadn't made her do it. He'd just listened and held her.

Jellal had been there for her when she needed someone.

"I figured as much," he said. "And that's fine. You don't have to tell anyone if you don't want to."

"I should have called her though," she whispered.

"But she never tried calling you," he said. "Friendship is about give and take. You taught me that…" When her troubled hazel eyes locked with his, he pulled a lock of her hair between his fingers. "You can't take the blame for this on yourself, Erza. I know you want to, but that won't help things."

"But Lucy's-"

"She's hurting," he nodded. "That doesn't mean it's your fault. It means she's hurting. Plain and simple. People deal with pain differently, and as long as it's not destructive, I don't see a reason to stop her from dealing with her pain the way she feels she has to."

"How is agreeing to be with a psychopath not destructive?" Erza asked. Now that the shock of Lucy's reaction had worn off, there was a whole lot she had to say about that. Cobra was a known criminal. Even worse, she _knew_ that he killed women who were involved with him. Did Lucy just have a death wish?

She couldn't see how anything that had happened recently would make Lucy suddenly so ready to die.

Worst of all was that no one seemed to be alarmed about it. The former Oracion Seis members had been making jokes about his headcount when she'd arrived.

"And why didn't you put a stop to it sooner?" she added. "You said it happened two weeks ago, Jellal. Why did I only find out about it last night?"

"Because I know you don't like Cobra," he said.

"Because Cobra is a lunatic," she shot back. "Lucy shouldn't be around him. She definitely shouldn't be involved with him romantically."

"Erza, I told you she seemed happy though," he said. "There really hasn't been anything to talk about with that. They acted like a married couple for the ball, and they kept the rings on afterward. Those two have been the same for the past two weeks as they were before the ball."

"Then why was she naked, Jellal? With a naked _Cobra_ right there with her?" He didn't say anything, but he didn't have to. It was obvious just what Lucy and Cobra had been doing the night before. "Why would she choose him over our friendship?"

"Because she's being selfish," he said. "Lucy's doing what she wants to do, hearing what she wants to hear. I can't say that it's a good idea, but…" He sighed when Erza pulled her hand away and stood from the log. He followed her though, even as she started down the path back toward the camp. Sun dappled her armor from between the leaves above them, and just before she broke through the tree line, he gently pulled her to a stop. She didn't turn to look at him though.

She didn't try to speak at all. Erza was stone still, just standing, waiting for him to say something.

The fact of the matter was, everyone was selfish. No matter how selfless someone claimed to be, there was still something deep down that made them do things for their own gain. It was always that way. Even though he was atoning for his past, claiming that he was selfless in his quest to rid the world of Zeref's cursed presence, deep down, Jellal wanted to make things right for himself. He wanted to be the man that Erza deserved.

He was painfully self-aware when it came to his own contradictions.

"Erza, please just listen to me," he said softly. She still said nothing, but at least she nodded. "I won't let Lucy get hurt because of Cobra. I can talk to the others about it. I'll talk to him about it as well. You know that I care about everyone in my guild. We're all looking for our second chance. Maybe…"

"If you say that Lucy could be _his_ second chance…"

He winced while slowly walking around her so he could look into her eyes. She wouldn't look at him, so he did the next best thing. Jellal closed the small distance between them and wrapped his arms about her shoulders. He didn't care that her armor dug into him, or that her hands balled against his chest while she decided whether or not to push him away.

"You're her friend," he said instead. "You know her better than most people."

"Apparently, I don't," she muttered.

"You _do_. How many times have you told me stories about her and the rest of your team?"

"... Too many, I suppose."

He chuckled quietly, nestling his nose in her hair. "And how many times have you said that you were happy to have her as a friend?" he asked. "To have Fairy Tail as your family?

"..."

"I'm not saying she should talk to you the way she did," he whispered. "Or that it's alright to treat your friends like garbage just because you're in pain. That's between the two of you, and I'll help you work it out if you need me to. But I don't want you to lose a friend that you love. You've already lost so much, and I know you won't say it, but losing the guild is hard on you."

"I have no issues with admitting that," she said. "I miss Fairy Tail. I miss the guild and seeing everyone. But Master's last order to us was to go out and live our lives. Have new adventures. I'm trying but…"

"You miss your home." She nodded against him and finally her arms slid around his waist. "It's okay to say it," he whispered. "You did what you could while the guild was still together. Give her some time and try talking to her again."

"What if she won't listen?"

"With the way you've described her, I have a feeling she will."

"What about how she's been since joining you?" she asked.

"I… don't really know," he said. That was the truth. Lucy talked with everyone, she was a trooper considering the amount of ground they covered in a day. But Erza had said she would call her spirits out all the time, and he'd yet to see any since Capricorn had disappeared just before they went to Lord Aurus' manor.

Even when they came across a dark guild, Lucy didn't call her spirits out. She only fought with her whip. Sometimes, it made him think of Erza though. The fire that showed up in her eyes when she fought was very similar to what he'd seen in the Requip mage before.

"I'm still learning about her," he said. "Now that she's part of the guild, she's part of our family. She hasn't really opened up though."

"You'll look after her, right?" Erza said. "Lucy's… She's not like a lot of mages. We all tried to keep the worst from her when she was part of the team. We protected her. Natsu, especially."

"Well, you can't always protect everyone," he said softly. "I won't sugarcoat things for her, and I won't give her any special treatment because she's your friend. She's the same as everyone else. From what I can tell, she doesn't really need protecting."

"How so?"

Jellal smiled when her head turned and she listened to the steady beating of his heart. They never had enough time like this, and he didn't blame her one bit for wanting to soak up as many small moments with him as she could. "You haven't heard the things she says to Cobra," he chuckled. "I think the most recent was that he was a douche canoe. And then there was something else about sailing on bottles of cooch-cleaners."

Erza bit her lips and closed her eyes, fighting against a smile. "Lucy said that?"

"Yes. It shut him up for a few minutes, so that was nice."

"That doesn't sound like her at all…" Still, it was quite the mental image, picturing something so crass spilling past the blonde's lips, when she'd been so different before.

They stood in silence for several minutes, simply listening to the wood around them, feeling the other beneath their hands. He could just barely hear the rest of the guild talking around the fire and, after some time, Jellal smelled the food Midnight had started cooking for breakfast. Sleeping issues aside, he was very thankful that Midnight could cook well with rations and hunted food. Even though Midnight was most likely going to eat like a bird, at least he helped to take care of the others. Because Meredy's cooking gave Cobra a run for his money on toxicity levels.

"Erza?"

"Hm?"

"I just have one thing to say for future reference."

"Yes?" Her eyes stayed closed and her lips curved when his fingers sifted through her hair.

"If you plan on pulling a naked person out of their tent," he said slowly, "Try to grab a blanket too. We've been having issues with Midnight getting nosebleeds. I was sure today would have killed him."

Her eyes snapped open and she drew back to look into his eyes, only to find a playful grin on his lips. "W-Well, I didn't… Um… Y-You see…"

He gently cupped her cheek and lowered his head, unable to hold back a quiet laugh when their lips met and Erza squeaked. He didn't close his eyes while kissing her. Jellal loved being able to see how she blushed such a beautiful shade of pink, how long it took for her to give in and finally melt into him. Only when her eyes were closed and her lips puckered and moved against his, did he allow himself to succumb to his desire.

It didn't matter to him how long they stood just on the edge of the forest.

"Maybe you should get back," she said, only to laugh when he kissed her with more fervor.

All Jellal cared about in that moment was having a few peaceful moments with Erza, where nothing was more important than the suddenly missing metal beneath his fingers. He drew back in surprise and looked down at her, only to find her in a white tank top and grey skirt that he didn't recognize. "I've got time," he whispered. He took a shaky breath and met her gaze, groaning when she pulled him into another melting kiss.

* * *

Cobra settled Lucy on the bedroll while he knelt in front of her and searched for his previously discarded shirt.

"What are you doing?" she whispered. "I thought we were gonna lie down…"

He let out a slow breath and refused to meet her gaze. "We were both sweating up a storm last night," he muttered. "Might as well take some time to clean up."

She frowned and nodded in silence, but couldn't help but smile when the thermal shirt he'd been wearing the night before was gently pulled over her head. "Erik…"

"Don't worry about it." Once her hands were through the sleeves and it was sitting just right, he felt the blonde's fingers drifting over his the same way she'd done here and there over the past couple weeks. "You wanna talk and find out more about me," he whispered. "We can do that, but not here."

"Okay. Wherever you want."

He stood and led her out of the tent, ignoring the others as they sat around the fire. He didn't want to hear their questions, and he really didn't care what the hell they thought about the relationship he had with Lucy. The blonde was his concern, and that was that.

' _He's still shirtless…'_

' _Aw, she's wearing his shirt! That's so adorable!'_

' _Wonder where those two are headed…'_

' _Cobra's acting strange. I wonder what Lucy did to get to him like this.'_

It took a short while to reach the lake a few miles from their camp, but he knew that it was far enough from the others that they wouldn't be overheard. Or bothered. Really, the last thing he needed was any of them seeing Lucy naked. Again.

And if she wanted to talk to him, he wanted to be able to speak freely. Cobra had promised not to lie to her, and if he knew someone would hear him, then there was no fucking way he'd be telling the whole truth. But Lucy deserved that, he guessed. She hadn't gone running for the hills at the first mention of his… less than stellar track record with women.

Without a word, he turned and started pulling his shirt off of her, baring her far too delectable body.

"Erik," Lucy whispered. "What's gotten into you?"

He removed his pants and set their clothing on a flat rock by the lake, then led her into the water. "I wanna have the chance to see you like this," he whispered. "Y'know… before you find out and leave for good."

"You mean about-"

"In a minute," he sighed. His hands smoothed over her back, drawing her further into the water as his lips sought out hers. A soft moan left him, and Cobra had no intention of trying to keep quiet now that they were alone. Her fingers danced along his chest, over the scars here and there that marred his caramel skin.

' _Why would I leave him?'_

His eye slid open and he was instantly struck into silence by the way the morning light glittered along the surface of the lake and reflected small, rippling motes of light onto her cheeks and chest.

Her small smile when their eyes locked. How she seemed to light up even more as her cheeks darkened into an ethereal blush. Sunlight practically leaked from her hair, nearly blinding him. But when he drew back just a little more, Cobra found himself more enthralled by the second.

Never in his life had he found a woman to be as beautiful as Lucy was in that moment. Sure, he'd seen her completely naked the first time they'd fucked, but this… with the sun shining down on her barely tanned flesh, her full breasts, perfectly pinched waist… She was more than he ever could have asked for. It didn't matter how many women he'd been with before, how many naked bodies he'd seen in his lifetime. Lucy was something else entirely.

"Damn…"

Lucy's eyes widened while she took in Cobra's softened eye and the tender smile on his lips. Her gaze raked over him, taking in every inch of flesh she could that laid bare above the water. From the definition in his lean muscles to the healthy color of his deep tan, how light his scars were in comparison, and how several others were shades darker than his normal complexion. She wanted to memorize him. The pale lavender flecks in his iris, how long his lashes were where they rested against his scarred cheek. The fullness of his lips that she'd yet to really appreciate until that moment.

And then she saw it. Freckles. Across his nose. They were hardly visible, but right then, she saw them.

' _Oh my god, this poor lake is getting tainted with my own personal waterfall… It's a sin to be this delicious looking. Fuck, he looks so cute with freckles! Oh man, I'm dead.'_

His fingers trailed up the length of her arm to finally rest on the back of her neck. Cobra lowered his head to rest his forehead against hers. "Ask me anything you want," he whispered. "I won't lie to you."

"H-Have you always been this sexy?" she mumbled.

"No," he laughed, lightly nipping at her lips. "The lacrima added to my sexiness."

"And the ears," she nodded. "And the missing eye…"

"Fair points," he conceded. "What else do you wanna know? Read my ass like a book, I'm not hiding anything."

Lucy bit her lips indecisively, then sifted her fingers through his hair. All she needed to do was pick somewhere to start. All she had to do was pick up on their conversation from the night before. He'd been so forthcoming with his answers before they'd gotten naked. Did this mean he was going to do the same right then?

"Were you serious last night?" she asked. "Would you-"

"I would," he answered. "I'd destroy the world in a fucking heartbeat if you disappeared. Tick-tock guppy clock, or something else. It'd still happen."

"But, why?"

"Because... I care," he whispered. "I wouldn't do it over nothing, but… If I lost you… If you were taken from me…"

Her brows drew together in confusion while looking up at him. It seemed Cobra was full of surprises. She'd never thought he would have the level of compassion she was seeing right then. Or that he could care so deeply. It almost sounded like he loved her, but really… Lucy knew for a fact that just wasn't it. It was way too soon for anything like that, engaged or not.

"Like I said, I don't love you. It might happen, but not yet. I just…" He sighed and lowered both of them further into the water, smiling when Lucy's head tipped back to soak her hair.

The fact of the matter was, he could see himself falling for her. He'd dug around in her soul enough over the past two weeks to already know that there wasn't a damn thing wrong with her. She was sweet and relatively innocent. He'd thought she was too fucking perfect, really. But that was why he'd tried to keep his distance. Cobra didn't want to get attached or obsessed with Lucy the way he'd been with women in the past, just to find something that drove him insane and made him want her dead. She was part of their guild, and he really didn't need everyone getting on his ass for killing the Celestial mage.

But, he didn't find any of that. Just beautiful songs, rows upon rows of filing cabinets of information, and a wellspring of love for everyone she encountered. If there was ever a person he would want to keep in the world, it was Lucy, if for no other reason than to hear her soul.

There was more to her though, and he'd learned about it the night before. No matter how perfect she seemed, Lucy was still human. She had her flaws, just like everyone else. Except, hers were usually to her detriment. She trusted people too easily, and it had gotten her heart broken time and again. She wasn't perfect. Lucy had her own pain that had been eating at her since she was a fucking kid. It wasn't a whole lot of anything when compared to the physical and mental torture he and the others had gone through in the Tower, but for her own situation it definitely wasn't the best.

He'd probably be upset if he'd had a parent ignore his entire existence for seven years too. Then again, Cobra had never had anyone raise him, so… he wasn't sure.

And then there was the fact that she had that little spark of insanity in her, that he'd seen the night before when she'd encouraged him to let loose and choke her a little. Just a little though. It made him wonder just what else she might be interested in.

"Next question," he said.

"Is what you said true?" she asked. "You kill the woman you're with?"

"It is. Up until now, I've killed every woman I've ever been with."

"But why?"

"Different reasons," he sighed, dipping his head into the water. When he resurfaced, he couldn't help but chuckle at the dazed look on Lucy's face.

' _So not fair… How am I supposed to think when he's wet like this?'_

Her hands sought out his hair again, smoothing it back from his face and forcing him to crash their lips together. A moan quivered in her chest as his tongue gently traced the seam of her lips. It didn't take long for her to pull back but as Lucy panted softly, only inches away from sinking into another devilish kiss, he drew back the rest of the way.

"I'll tell you, if you wanna know," Cobra whispered, tucking her hair behind her ears and giving her just one more chaste kiss. "You just tell me _how much_ you wanna know."

"Everything," she answered instantly.

"Alright."

"But…" Lucy frowned while running her hands over his chest, feeling his arms winding around her waist beneath the water. "I thought you said you don't hit women."

"I don't," he nodded. "Angel does that shit for me."

"So, has Angel helped you…"

"No, those are different circumstances." He could hear the cogs working overtime in her head as Lucy tried to sort out the contradicting points in what she already knew. He shouldn't have been surprised that she was actually trying to make them all mesh, or that she was hearing him out instead of just jumping to her own conclusions and bolting.

"I don't understand."

"I told you that women, kids, rape, and pedophilia pretty much sum up the main ones that I won't fucking touch," he whispered.

"Right. So, how…"

"And I said everything else is a case-by-case basis," he continued.

"Right…?"

"The issue, though, is that when I said 'women', I mean _innocent_ women. The ones I was with before were far from innocent. They were fucking garbage just waiting to get taken to the curb."

"Then why would you be with them in the first place?"

A wry smile turned up his lips. "I think you should question what was wrong with _them_ in the first place to agree to be with a known psychopath."

"Well, I'm with you," she said. "Doesn't that lump me in with the rest?"

"Have you ever put your child up for adoption to be with me, because I said I hate kids?"

"What? No." Hadn't he told her the night before that he didn't hate kids? He'd said he had a habit of going out to save them from being made into slaves. Why would he tell someone that he hated kids?

"How about… Using me to get back at an ex? Or trying to sleep with me just so I'll kill your husband, then you can collect the insurance money? Maybe lying and saying that I raped you?"

"That's horrible…"

"Tip of the iceberg," he sighed. "I'll admit some were iffy. I heard one chick was addicted to drugs, and I couldn't deal with the shit happening in her soul. Put her out of her misery, really."

"Mercy killings, too?" she snorted. "I don't see you as being one for that…"

"I'm not. She stuck me with a fucking needle," he growled. He was still supremely pissed off that Bernice had gotten the jump on him that night. She deserved the overdose he shot her up with. Right in her eyes. "If heroine wasn't so expensive, I'd use that to get some poison in me."

The extra poison pumping through his veins had at least been a plus.

"Holy shit…"

"Then there's all the times I've caught women sleeping around on me. I make my intentions clear as fucking day, and somehow they end up going from fucking me to fucking Midnight."

Lucy blinked and looked back in the direction of their camp. "You mean, Midnight's slept with your... lovers. Multiple times?"

"Yep. He's a fucking prick when he wants to be," Cobra sneered.

"And you killed them instead of him," Lucy mused.

"Because Midnight has no idea who I'm fucking more often than not. The times he did know, he was trying to get back at me for something. But every time, they came on to him, he was just accepting it."

That was the only reason that Cobra hadn't gone after Midnight over it. He never pursued a woman that he knew was already involved. If Midnight was the one _being_ pursued, well he didn't exactly say no. Especially not when they'd been younger and he and Cobra were at each other's throats almost constantly over stupid shit.

"But, why not break up?" Lucy whispered. Really, this was bordering on too much for her to deal with.

"I was never dating them. And even still, I don't do breakups."

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

"The first and _last_ time someone saw me shirtless," Cobra whispered. "She threw up. She saw these…" His hands lifted from the water, and he watched Lucy's widened eyes turn to his scars. "And the bitch said I was disgusting. She didn't wanna listen when I tried telling her that I used to be a fucking slave."

Fuck. He'd been meaning to _not_ tell her about his childhood.

"Slave?" she whispered. "What do you mean-"

Cobra took a deep breath to keep from grinding his teeth when her fingers brushed across his scarred wrist. "You've heard of it already," he said, glaring down at the water. "Brain got all of us from the same fucking place. I'm the only one of us that was born there, though."

Well, if he was going to tell her any of it, then he might as well get the biggest bang for his damn buck. Get the worst of it out of the way, he supposed.

"Where-"

"That bullshit Tower that our _wonderful_ guild asshole used to run," he spat. In an instant, her hands dropped to the water.

' _They were all in the… No wonder he said Jellal feels guilty… What happened to him there? To all of them… he was born there… raised in a place like that? Oh god…'_

"But that wasn't your fault," Lucy whispered.

"Do you know why I have so many?" He didn't wait for her to say no. "Conditioning. One of the guards took a liking to me, decided to take me out of my cell at night and beat me more after everyone was asleep."

"Conditioning for what?"

"To be the perfect slave," Cobra spat. "Submissive. I wasn't allowed to make a noise, or he'd gag me and break my bones with his fucking baton. I wasn't allowed to tell anyone - not that anyone gave a fuck in the first place - or the knives would come out. I wasn't..."

He paused and shook his head to clear away memories of his childhood. The last thing he needed was Lucy getting freaked out by _that_ right then.

"I could go on and on about the people I've killed because of what I am now, but I know there's something else you wanna know."

"What?" she frowned. "That's what I asked to hear about though."

"But you wanna know _why_ I'm insane."

"You're not really insane."

"I am," he whispered. "I'm fully aware of it, and I really just don't care. I think what I'm doing is the right thing, and the only way I know it really isn't is if the others fucking tell me I'm going too far. I'm obsessive, violent, and you don't even wanna know what I dream about at night. I get bored easily, and when I do, I end up killing something. Dissecting it. One time I had six men fully conscious while I flayed them just because I didn't have anything better to do."

"Oh my god…"

"I'm obsessive to the point of being psychotic, Belle. I find something that interests me, and it has to be mine. I have to own it, keep it…" His grip on her waist tightened slightly before he relaxed again, letting out a slow, steadying breath. "I have to understand what's so interesting about it, and that usually ends with me hating what I found. And then I kill it. I can't stand to be around it, to know something like that still exists. I have to kill it."

"So, were you ever abusive?" Lucy whispered shakily.

"No. I didn't hit them even when I was killing them. Poison works wonders in those scenarios. Then, once they're dead, technically it's not abuse. It's just me maiming a corpse."

"O-Oh…"

He could already hear her wavering on whether or not she felt safe with him, questioning why she'd agreed to come out to the lake alone when he could easily kill her. The realization that she didn't have her keys or whip to defend herself. "If you wanna leave," he sighed, "I won't blame you. You're crazy, sure, but I don't think there's anyone out there with my same brand of it."

"Why didn't you tell me any of this before?"

"Because it never came up."

"Would you have told me?" she said anxiously. "If no one had ever mentioned it where I could hear… Would you have said something yourself?"

"Not unless you asked." He hated that it was like a punch to the gut when she pulled away from him.

"Why?"

He shrugged then and clenched his hands into fists beneath the water to keep her from seeing how badly he wanted to hold her. "I don't like talking about my past."

He hated it, actually. He hated thinking about the bullshit that was his childhood. He hated thinking about women who only used him for the name he'd gotten from Brain. He still fucking hated Brain, even though he'd been able to kill that bastard.

He hated even more that Lucy took a slow step through the water, further from him, and that he wanted her in his arms again.

"I…"

He hated that she'd made him feel like an idiot for telling her the truth. That she was scared of him after hearing it. That he'd been the one to scare her when he hadn't wanted to.

"I-I need to…"

Cobra watched as Lucy shook her head and splashed back through the water to the rock he'd set their clothes on. He could hear something deep within him reaching out to her, begging her not to go, but he forced himself to stay right where he was. He should have known it would end up this course he couldn't have her. After the things he'd done, most of which he didn't regret in the slightest, Lucy was just never going to be his. She was too good for him, and really... He should have seen her reaction coming.

But he'd deluded himself into thinking that everything would be fine. That Lucy, the sweet, kind-hearted person that she was, could find a way to see past all that and realize that, with her, he didn't want to cause _her_ pain. He didn't want to torture _her_.

He was a selfish prick, but Cobra liked that about himself. It meant there was at least one person looking out for _his_ best interests.

Lucy sniffled quietly and pulled Cobra's shirt on after wringing her hair out, then started walking back toward their camp with her arms wrapped around herself.

What Cobra didn't understand was just why his chest tightened painfully with each quick step she took to get further away from him. Why his muscles tensed until he was trembling and causing small ripples across the surface of the water. What nearly doubled him over though was what he heard from her soul just as Lucy left his line of sight through the trees.

 _'Whirlwind romance, my ass. I was being an idiot… What the hell was I thinking, being with him?!'_

She knew what kind of man he was before, but Lucy had gotten so wrapped up in everything that she hadn't seen what was right in front of her. Cobra was insane. She'd known that before, but this was a whole other level of psychotic that she just couldn't understand. He'd explained, sure, but it didn't excuse the things he'd done in the past.

Because of her, Cobra hated himself and the things he'd done.

* * *

"What do you mean, Cobra and Lucy walked off somewhere?!" Jellal asked, wide-eyed as he stared at Midnight.

"I mean just that," Midnight said around a mouthful of granola. "You two walked off, they got dressed and went the other way. What's the big deal?"

"The big deal," Erza said as she stormed closer, "Is that Cobra could be murdering her right now!"

"He's not going to kill her," Midnight chuckled. He shook his head and took another bite of his food only to pause mid-chew when Erza's sword pressed itself against his throat. He looked up to find her glowering down at him, with a deadly aura radiating from her. Oh, he remembered that all too well. This really wasn't going to be good.

"How do you know?" she hissed.

"Why do you even care?" Angel asked. "You ditched her and now all of a sudden you give a damn?"

Erza didn't look away from Midnight when she answered. "I never stopped caring about Lucy. She's my friend."

"Some friend you are," Angel muttered.

"Had she told me, or anyone else, what happened during the fight with Jackal, then we would have done things differently," she said. "Lucy didn't tell us. She kept it to herself, and as far as we knew, she was fine when the guild disbanded."

Everyone went silent when several bushes near the camp rustled. Moments later, Lucy came stomping out, still wearing only Cobra's shirt and using the sleeve to swipe the tears from her cheeks as she rushed toward her tent and closed the flap behind her.

"What did he do to her?" Erza hissed, rounding on Midnight again.

"How should I know?" he asked around his food. Hopefully she would move the sword soon so he could swallow it. "I was _here_."

"I'll go check on her," Angel said and got ready to stand.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Jellal asked. "Maybe Erza-"

"She doesn't want to _see_ Erza," Angel spat. "Or did you already forget the naked tantrum earlier?"

"Whose side are you on?" Meredy asked, frowning and tilting her head to one side. "You sided with Lucy over being ditched, but now it's a tantrum?"

"I'm on _my_ side," Angel said. "Justified or not, the screaming makes it a tantrum. Either way, someone should talk to her."

"Cobra didn't come back with her," Racer muttered. "I'll go find him."

"Be careful," Hoteye said. "If he's angry…"

"Yeah, I know. I won't get in his way."

"How is this someone that's a good choice for her, again?" Erza said, rounding on Jellal and still pointing her sword at Midnight. The Reflector mage simply ate around it. "He gets so upset he may hurt his own comrades just for getting in his way."

"There's no _may_ about it," Angel sighed. "When Cobra's angry, you stay out of his way or you get poisoned."

"This is only proving my point," Erza said.

"I…" Jellal sighed. "Honestly, I've got nothing."

Midnight shoved the wrapper for his food in his pocket and carefully slid away from the sword at his throat, then stood. "Well, I'm gonna go talk to her."

"What makes you think _that's_ a good idea?" Angel snorted. "You know he'll kill you if he finds you in there."

"Right," Midnight nodded. "But she needs someone to talk to, and you're better at smacking people than listening to them. Jellal is clueless right now, and she probably doesn't want to see Erza either. Besides, I know him much better than you, and you still don't like her all that much."

Meredy and Hoteye both decided not to comment on being left out of that list.

Angel crossed her arms and huffed, "It's not that I don't like her… But, fine. Go do whatever. Just remember, if you-"

"I'm not gonna sleep with her."

"You've said _that_ before," Hoteye muttered.

"Fuck you," Midnight yawned. He made his way across the camp to Lucy's tent. After hesitating for a moment, he slowly opened the flap and went inside, keeping his eyes cast down in case Lucy was trying to change.

"M-Midnight? What are you doing here?"

"What happened?"

Lucy sniffled and wiped her cheeks with the sleeve of the thermal shirt she was still wearing. She'd gotten as far as putting on a fresh pair of panties, but that had been all she could manage before her emotions had gotten the better of her.

"He told you about them, didn't he?" When Lucy nodded, curling in on herself a little more where she was kneeling on the bedroll, he sighed and plopped down in front of her. "And you flipped out."

"W-Well… I-I don't…"

"He never buried them," Midnight said softly. "He doesn't believe in burials. Too sentimental."

"I-Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"Maybe," he shrugged, stifling another slow yawn. "Usually, he leaves a woman wherever he killed her. Unless he throws her into the ocean or off a cliff…"

"I just don't understand why he'd do it at all."

"He probably doesn't know either," Midnight muttered. "We never questioned it. That's just how Cobra is. He makes us look sane."

"You're really bad at making people feel better," she muttered.

"Well, probably, but I'm his best friend. I think it's written down somewhere that I'm supposed to step in when he's fucking things up."

"I'm not sleeping with you."

He laughed and shook his head. "I never said you were. I guess he told you about that too, huh?" When she nodded, he reached up and started lightly toying with one of his white braids. "None of them were good enough for him. He always finds something wrong with them. Granted, Cobra never really looked too hard. He just accepts what falls into his lap."

"And now I'm just like the rest of them," she muttered. "I'd rather get smacked around by Angel…" Oh, she'd been able to hear all of them talking about her while she was in the tent. At least Erza hadn't come in. She didn't want to try and defend her choices to the Requip mage, especially knowing what she did now.

"While you did, technically, fall into his life by joining the guild, he's put more effort into being with you like a normal person than I've seen with anyone else. You're more than some obsession to him."

"Until he finds something wr-wrong with me," she whimpered. "Then I'm dead."

"Is that what he told you?" Lucy shook her head. "So, what _did_ he tell you?"

"About the women," she said, wiping her eyes again. "He said he doesn't like talking about his past, and he probably wouldn't have told me if it hadn't come up."

"What else?"

"A l-little about the Tower, his scars… He said someone threw up when she saw them."

"Marla," Midnight nodded. "He ripped her tongue out and fed it to Cubellios, then disemboweled her and left her for the vultures." They'd all been fifteen when that happened. Cobra had gone out of his way to see Marla time and again where she worked at a bar near the Oracion Seis compound, since she was the first older woman he'd been interested in. But it just hadn't worked out. "He made us watch them eat her."

"That's disgusting…"

"You melted a guy's face off with an iron," Midnight countered. "You're not so innocent, either."

"He was an enemy," she said. "He attacked me."

"And Marla attacked Cobra," Midnight replied. "She attacked his pride. He'd never had an issue with people seeing what he looked like before that, but something she said, or maybe just that she threw up, was enough for him to lock up. He wasn't the same after that."

"But…"

"You said he told you about his scars," Midnight mused. "He doesn't talk about them. To anyone."

"So, why would he tell me?"

"I'm not sure," he shrugged. "I guess he trusted you not to judge him."

Which was weird. Cobra had spent his whole life trusting only Cubellios. It took years for him to feel close enough to the rest of them to actually trust them. Midnight was sure it had something to do with the fact that they'd been so adamant about helping him find Cubellios when they'd gotten out of prison the first time.

"I told him I didn't want him to lie to me."

"Oh, that doesn't mean anything," he laughed. "If he wants to lie, he'll lie. Well, normally, he would. But you… You can apparently get him to do anything."

She sniffled again and shook her head firmly. There was no way she could get Cobra to do anything. Not that psycho. Why she'd believed that maybe he wasn't so messed up, she wasn't sure, but Lucy felt like an idiot.

"You got him to threaten Erza," Midnight sighed. "He's fought her twice now, and after she hit him with that hammer, he's been very adamant about not crossing her again. But, for you… He didn't care about that."

"So, what… I'm supposed to believe he's not a monster because he has a soft spot for me?"

"No," Midnight laughed. "Thinking he's anything but a monster will get you hurt." After a moment, he added, "What is it that he calls you?"

"Belle," she whispered.

"Right, and who was he - Oh, the Beast."

"So?"

"Maybe you should think about that story a little more," he suggested with a smirk. "It's not about changing someone to be what or who you want them to be in the end…"

Lucy watched in amazement as his eyes slid closed and he nodded off right where he was sitting. Really, it was like she was talking to Crux. In drag.

But maybe it was time she talked to someone about it all. And maybe it was time she took some advice that was given to her. Like, from the one who was best friends with the man whose actions scared the hell out of her.

Cobra's past was terrifying. The things he was capable of were horrendous. She'd agreed to propose to a monster, and the worst part about it all was that she'd known he wasn't always a good guy. Hell, he kind of wasn't a good guy then, either. He was crass and rude, disrespectful, and violent. He didn't care about the people around him, and she'd found herself having to duck for cover on occasion when his poison went out of control during a fight. He didn't apologize for anything, and he was cocky from having all the answers just given to him since he could hear a person's soul.

And with all of that, she still had found it in herself to strip down and let him fuck her. Twice. She couldn't attribute it to sexual frustration. She hadn't had a sex drive since Tartaros. It was something about Cobra that had made her open up again. Something about him had made her want to be intimate with someone, to feel a closer connection.

Things hadn't hurt as much when she was with him. His arms around her the night before had kept her safe from her nightmares. She hadn't felt weak and useless. He'd valued her abilities during their fight with the mages in that laundry room. Cobra had found a way to fill in the holes that had been pierced through her soul over the years, but she couldn't explain why or how.

And Lucy didn't know if she really wanted the answer.

But what the hell did a story have to do with any of that? She could see the good in Cobra, that was easy enough. Just like she could see the overwhelming amount of _bad_ in him. That was even easier. He was insane. Psychotic. A lunatic. He'd never once denied that simple truth.

So, was this her fault then? For getting attached when she should have known better? She couldn't even figure out when she'd gotten attached to him enough to really care about his past.

' _But what about that story?'_

Midnight wasn't really one for talking, so she already knew that when he _did_ say something, it was only because it was worth the effort to say it.

She knew the story. She definitely knew the movie, start to finish, enough that she'd been able to replay the scene in her head of Belle and the Beast dancing while she and Cobra had been undercover. She knew the moral, and she knew how it ended. The beast changed into a prince when he kissed Belle. Or when she cried all over him, depending on which version you were thinking about.

But they weren't like the story. She wasn't just a smart, beautiful woman who loved books. He wasn't a narcissistic asshole who was cursed by a witch.

Lucy was broken. She wasn't spending time with Cobra to save her father. It wasn't selflessness that brought her to Crime Sorciere; it was desperation. And purely accidental. It was her selfishness that had brought her into their fold, because she needed people around her.

" _It's not about changing someone to be what or who you want them to be in the end…"_

She knew it wasn't about that at all. Belle didn't get the Beast to change in the end by wanting him to change. She'd accepted him as a beast and fell in love with him anyway. It didn't matter that he was a monster. Lucy's eyes widened and she made a small sound of surprise. When Midnight's deep crimson eyes opened and his black-painted lips quirked in a smug smile, she was left simply shaking her head.

"Figure it out?" Midnight chuckled.

* * *

Racer rushed back into the clearing, panting and wide-eyed as he came to a screeching halt. Everyone present turned toward him, watched as he hunched over to catch his breath.

"Cobra… really mad…" he panted. "Killed… so many… On his way… Fuck… So much blood..." Erza glared toward Jellal as Racer's head lifted and he looked around the camp. "Where's Midnight?"

"He's talking to Lucy," Meredy said.

Racer went rigid. He stopped breathing entirely. "What?"

"Midnight is in her tent right now," Meredy said. "He said he was going to talk to her."

"Bull-fucking shit is that asshole talking to her," Cobra growled as he pushed through the brush and came toward the rest of the guild. His eye was crazed, wild and wide beneath his tousled, drying hair. There was no blood to be seen on him aside from what was speckled on his pants.

Erza stepped between Cobra and Lucy's tent, raising her sword to ward him off. "That's enough, Cobra. You can't control who Lucy talks to." He dodged to one side, but she followed his every attempt at reading her movements from her soul. Fighting against him twice had definitely helped her hone this particular skill. "I will not let you disturb them."

" _Disturb_ them?! Get the fuck out of my way," Cobra snarled. He lunged forward, ignoring her sword and how it grazed his side as a warning. His hands lifted, poison dripping from his fingertips while he aimed for her throat. "You think I'll just sit back and let him fuck her?!"

"Cobra, stop!" Angel said. She didn't move closer, but Jellal did.

Before Cobra could get close enough, Jellal zipped in behind him and used his distracted state to his advantage. His arms locked around the Poison Slayer's, holding them high above his head while Jellal's hands linked at the back of his neck. "That's enough, Cobra," Jellal said. "Lucy's not safe with you acting like this."

"Fuck you," Cobra growled. "Midnight's fucking dead. You don't hear what he's thinking in there."

"That's not an excuse to attack everyone," Erza said. She still held her sword at the ready, in case he broke free. She looked at Jellal and scowled. "Explain to me how _this_ makes any sense for her. He's insane!"

"Goddamn right I am," Cobra snarled. He writhed in Jellal's grip, shuddering when he felt the fabric of an unfamiliar shirt brushing against his scarred back. "No one's keeping me from getting in there!"

"Jellal, this isn't healthy," Erza said. "Look at him. He's acting like some animal."

She had a point, and Jellal knew it. But this was the first time he'd ever seen Cobra acting like this. The usual snark and lackadaisical attitude was gone. Instead, the Poison Slayer was acting as though he'd really lost all sense of self. As though he thought this was normal.

It was far from normal, and when Cobra's head shot back and hit him in the nose hard enough for his grip to loosen, for him to slip away and lunge for the tent again, Jellal realized that maybe Erza had been right all along.

"Cobra, stop!" Angel shouted as he knocked Erza and Jellal away.

* * *

"It shouldn't matter," Lucy whispered. "Because, there's more to him than the Beast."

"Alright, any other interpretations?"

"He… Erik wasn't always like this, and… someone made him this way?"

"Sure," Midnight nodded. "I can see how you'd come to that conclusion. But, the question is… Has he been calling you Belle for no reason?"

' _Belle was the one that saw more than everyone else,'_ Lucy thought, her breath quickening. _'She saw the Beast for who he really was. The man beneath the monster… Erik called me that. He chose that nickname for me…'_

She'd thought Cobra just had a habit of repeating himself from time to time, but maybe it was more than that. Maybe he'd been hinting at what she really needed to know. He kept calling himself a Beast; calling her Belle. He didn't want to let go of the fact that they were engaged. She'd noticed it, sure, but Lucy had just chalked it up to him joking around.

"M-Maybe," she whispered. "Maybe he was trying to tell me something?"

"Maybe," Midnight shrugged. "You'll have to ask him for yourself. Honestly, I have no idea what goes on in his head most of the time. I will say that the fact that he lets you call him by his real name should be an indication of how much he trusts you though..." Just as the words were out of his mouth, a low growl sounded through the air and his eyes widened. "Oh, this isn't good…"

"Huh?"

"Oh, nothing. He's just ready to kill me."

"For what?"

"Hm? Oh, for thinking about that green underwear you have on and picturing Meredy wearing it."

"Wait, what?"

"Huh?" Midnight muttered. Slowly, he started backing out of the tent. "Nothing. Forget I said anything."

Lucy watched in horror as the Reflector mage was forcefully dragged out of her tent, his painted nails scraping along the ground while he tried to claw away from the Poison Slayer.

"I wasn't trying anything!" Midnight yelped.

"Bullshit!"

She whimpered and shut her eyes, her arms barring around her waist. This was what she'd been scared of concerning Cobra. He was a loose cannon. What kind of woman was she for wanting to be with him?

"Someone had to - OW! Fuck, don't poison me!"

"I'm gonna do more than fucking poison you!"

"What are you doing?" Erza shouted. "Let go of me, Hoteye!"

"Racer, we have to stop this!" Jellal yelled.

"Goddamnit! Stop biting me, Cobra!"

Slowly she peeked out of the tent, swiping at the tears on her lashes while she took in the scene before her. Midnight was sprawled on his back with Cobra straddling him, the latter snapping his jaws wildly at the Reflector mage who was barely holding him at bay. Racer had pinned Jellal to the ground. Hoteye held Erza's arms to her sides and lifted her off the ground, and her legs kicked wildly as she tried to break free. Angel stood in front of Meredy, who was left peeking around her shoulder to see what was happening.

Why were they keeping the others from helping Midnight?

"Fuck!" Midnight shouted as he was bit again. "Cobra, take the poison out! OW! Take it out! Don't put more in!"

"No," Cobra spat. "You knew… I know you did. And you still fucking-"

"She needed someone to talk to!" He was lucky to get a punch in on Cobra, but it only made things worse. Cobra's ferocity intensified as his hands swung with wild punches, sometimes nothing more than scratches that would have torn Midnight apart if his scales had been activated.

"Angel could have done that without getting a dick involved!" he roared.

"I wasn't trying to fuck Lu - AH! Don't bite me again! Goddamnit! Ow! Fuck! OW! Stop!"

Lucy crawled out of her tent, flinching when the two rolled one way then another, with Cobra ending up on top every time. She saw the blood on Cobra's lips from where his teeth had sunken into Midnight's flesh, the numerous bite wounds on the pinned mage. But there was something else she hadn't been expecting to see.

While Cobra's eye looked wild and crazed, as though he was nothing more than a monster, with his fists and teeth coming at Midnight from every angle he could manage, she saw what was beneath it all. The glassy quality to its amethyst depths. How red and puffy it really was. Moisture clumping his lashes.

Cobra had told her before that he'd never gone after Midnight over a woman. He would take it out on the her for pursuing his friend. So, what made this different?

" _I don't love you, but I'm willing to bet it'd happen if I let it."_

' _He… actually cares about me…'_

Lucy found herself smiling while she stormed over to the two scuffling men. She reached for Cobra, drawing back in surprise when his jaws snapped blindly at her before he rounded on Midnight again.

"Lucy, get away from him!" Racer bellowed. "You're gonna get hurt!"

"Cobra, stop!" Midnight pleaded, his voice ragged and his breathing heavy. "P-Please, stop! I didn't… I didn't do anything!"

"You knew!" Cobra growled. His fist flew down and landed on the side of Midnight's head when he tried to avoid the hit. "You knew, asshole. I know you did! I hear it!" Cobra shook him, slammed his head to the ground again, and bit his pale hand when it came up to push him away. "You knew all along, you bastard. And you still did it!"

She made a grab for Cobra's shoulder again, and when he turned to push her away, Lucy's other hand came up and roughly pinched his ear.

"Ow! Fuck, let go!" Cobra shouted.

"Get up," she said just loud enough for him to hear.

"Let the fuck go!"

Her grip on his ear tightened, her nails pinching the tender tip, and she pulled with all the strength she could muster, dragging him off of the Reflector mage. "Get the poison out."

"Fuck you," he sneered. Still, he made no move to smack her hand away from him, instead choosing to bend at the waist when she twisted and pulled his head down. "Fuck! Stop it!"

"Help. Him. Erik," she hissed while he tried in vain to push her hand away. "Then we have to talk."

"There's nothing to talk abo - OW! Okay, okay! Shit, you fucking psycho! Don't rip my goddamn ear - Fuck! Okay! I'm doing it!"

She watched as he slowly inhaled, the poison in Midnight's body flying through the air and back toward the Slayer and soaking into his skin. "Done?"

"I'm… good," Midnight groaned. He definitely didn't look good. There were countless bite marks littering his arms and throat, scratches and bruises already forming where Cobra had hit him, a split lip. He coughed and rolled onto his side, then spit out a mouthful of blood.

"Good." Her gaze lifted to the other mages, still standing back. "Angel, grab my keys from my tent and summon Virgo please. She'll help him get cleaned up." When Angel nodded, she turned and dragged Cobra toward his tent, roughly shoving him inside and closing the flap behind her.

"Goddamnit, woman," Cobra grumbled, sitting down on the ground where his bedroll would have been if he'd actually opened it up the night before. Once her talons detached themselves from his ear, he glared for all he was worth while his hand lifted to soothe the abused bit of flesh.

He hadn't been expecting her to kneel in front of him and lightly massage away the pain she'd caused. Or for her to be smiling.

"Why were you crying?" Lucy whispered.

"I-"

"Don't lie to me, Erik. Talk to me."

He turned away from her, and scowled at the ground. When he felt the smallest bit of pressure as her delicate fingers curved around his chin, he didn't fight it and instead allowed her to force his eye to meet hers. "How'd you know?"

"Isn't it in the job description?" she giggled. When he was silent, simply staring at her with an unreadable expression, her smile faded. "Tell me something."

"Hm…"

"Why did you start calling me Belle?"

"It's what you were dressed up as," he answered automatically.

"Why else?"

"Because you're beautiful."

"Is that the only reason?"

"No."

"How many reasons will I have to get through before you tell me the real one?"

"Twenty-seven."

By the look in his eye right then, she knew he wasn't joking. "Can we skip to the real reason?"

"Are you asking because you don't know, or because you want me to confirm what you're thinking?"

"You tell me," she whispered.

His mouth opened and closed for a moment, then he frowned again, shaking her hand from his chin. "You shouldn't be in here with me," he sighed. "Get out."

She really shouldn't be with him. He knew that. It hadn't been too hard to figure it out when she'd run away from him. And attacking the guy who claimed to be his best friend, over her, was just more proof that they couldn't be together. She didn't make him crazy. He'd brought that to the table already. No fucking way could he force her to accept it.

No normal person would.

"No."

"I almost killed Midnight because of what you do to me," he spat. "Just-"

"And what is it that I do to you?"

"Why do you think I called you Belle?" he asked in response.

"I never made you a Beast."

"Nope, you didn't."

"But, you want me to be… what, exactly?"

"Doesn't matter."

"Erik, we'll go around and around about this all day," she whispered, a heavy sigh passing through her lips. "You're smart enough to make this shit last for _weeks_ if you so chose. Why are you doing this now?"

"Because I'm a monster," he sneered. "I wasn't supposed to give a shit about you, but… Watching you run away from me earlier… Let's just say the lake is a little tainted with deer blood right now…"

"You killed a deer because I ran away?"

"Try three. Couple does and a stag."

"Erik…" She frowned when he looked back to the ground, then leaned forward and brushed her lips over his reddened ear. He shivered, clenching his fists in his lap, and her lips curved upward. "You don't love me," she whispered.

"Right." He wasn't even sure what that felt like to begin with.

"But I'm not an obsession?"

"Exactly." She wasn't his normal sort of obsession, but he was coming to realize that he was obsessing over her. Just not in the deadly kind of way.

"So, what am I?"

He looked down to where her hand rested over his, to the twin rings they were still both wearing. "Just… Lucy." He gasped when she gently bit his ear.

"Try again."

What was she? If she wasn't just Lucy, then what the hell did she want from him? That was all she could ever be. There was no way anything else would work. He'd been selfish, thinking that he could have someone like her, someone who didn't make him so fucking angry with the putrid shit wriggling around in their soul. Just because he liked hearing her soul didn't mean he fucking deserved to have her. He couldn't keep her like some fucking pet. He could keep her happy in the normal sense of the word either. There was still so much she didn't know about him, and Cobra really didn't want her to find out about it. How the hell could they be anything more than guildmates if he wanted to keep so many secrets from her?

His eye closed while he tentatively laced his fingers with hers. He couldn't hear her soul right then. Things were too hectic in his head. Too frazzled. Too… everything. But she squeezed his hands right back, anchoring him to the spot, to that single moment.

"Tell me," she whispered. "What am I to you, Erik? _Who_ am I?"

She couldn't be anything or anyone to him. She couldn't.

"You're…"

"Say it," she said. He could hear her smiling as she spoke. "It's okay to say it…"

"... Belle?" His next inhale was ragged as her tongue burned a path up the shell of his ear.

"Acceptable, but try one more time."

"My…" He sighed and shifted to pull away from her. "My nothing," he grumbled.

She couldn't be anything to him. Nothing more than another member of the guild. No matter what Cobra wanted, for once he had to think about someone else. And no matter what Lucy wanted, or thought she wanted, he wasn't good for her. He wasn't good for anyone. Except, it was the first time he'd ever really cared whether that was an issue.

And he just didn't know what to do about that.

It didn't take long for retrospect to kick in, for him to realize, now that he wasn't seeing Midnight lying on the ground beneath him, that he shouldn't have attacked his friend. That Jellal and Erza had been trying to keep him from doing something he shouldn't.

"I'm your-"

"No," he said. "You're not. Just take the ring off."

Lucy shook her head, shifting to look into his downcast eye. Her brows drew together when she felt his hands beginning to shake. "Erik, what's wrong?"

"..."

"Don't lie to me," she whispered.

He didn't want to say a fucking word though. It didn't matter. "... Everything." Damnit.

Lucy pushed his hands out of the way and crawled between his spread legs. Her arms wound around him and she pulled his head against her chest. Her lips puckered on his scalp.

"I shouldn't have hurt him," he whispered. He didn't feel sorry for it, but he knew it was the wrong fucking choice. God, how could she want to be with someone like him? "Get away from me, okay? Just go…"

"I'm not leaving."

"You should."

"I'm your fiancèe," Lucy whispered. "You want someone to understand you? To accept the fact that you're insane? You don't want me to try and keep you in line, but to acknowledge that this is who you are… Right? That's why you called me Belle?"

"And what if it is?" he asked. "Perceptive as you are, there's a fucking line that people just don't cross - shit you can deal with, and shit that you won't touch with a ten-foot-pole. I'm the latter. I always am."

"Not with me."

"And when you find out something else about me," he sighed. "Something you can't deal with, then what?"

"Well, I won't _kill_ you over it," she said. "That's your job."

"Hilarious."

" _My_ job is to try to be understanding, and to hear you out. I might freak out, but… Talking to Midnight did help me understand it a little."

"I should've fucking killed him," he growled.

"Nah," she laughed. "He was trying to help. I came back crying, he got me to see what I needed to so I could even look at you without being scared."

"All while thinking about your fucking underwear."

"And picturing it on Meredy, apparently."

"Yeah, he's been secretly fawning over that baby-crazy bubblegum demon since… Fuck, since Nirvana…"

"He _is_ aware she was just a kid then, right?"

"Yes, which is why he never made a move. Also, Brain wouldn't let him. She was Hades' property, so… off-limits."

Lucy rolled her eyes, sighing as she felt the hesitation in his fingers while they slid around her hips. "Don't be afraid to hold me," she whispered.

"I'm not," he said. "Just… I don't want you to be scared of me."

"I'm not scared of you, Erik."

She should have been scared of him. She should have been fucking terrified of being alone with him, like she'd been while running from the lake. What the hell had Midnight said to her that could have changed her mind? Why was she suddenly willing to be near him? To let him hold her. To hold _him_ and make him want her even closer. What the fuck had happened to pushing her away like he should have been?

"No, but you're afraid of _something_ ," he said. "I can hear it."

"Can you hear what it is?" He was silent for a few moments, then finally shook his head. "Being left behind," she whispered. "Every time I get attached, I'm left in the dust. My parents, Fairy Tail, Aquarius… I loved them, and now I'm alone…"

"Not anymore," he said softly. This was a horrible idea. He knew it was, but he couldn't stop himself from drawing her closer, winding his arms around her waist until there was no space between them. His head turned and he lightly kissed her neck. "I know what that feels like, and I'm not gonna leave you behind."

"Promise?"

A small smile turned up his lips while his nose ran along the column of her throat. "I promise," he hummed. "I don't make many of those, so… That's something you can count on."

Lucy blinked back suddenly happy tears while pulling him more firmly against her. "While I don't think disagreeing over one thing or another really excuses what you've done in the past, there's not a whole lot I can do about that. Just, don't kill me, alright?"

"Never," he sighed. Fuck, he was weak. So much for doing the right thing. "I've tried already. You just keep coming back."

"I'm a bit like a cockroach," she teased. "You'll never be rid of me."

"Crabs, then."

"Itchy and shameful?"

"Damn… What's a sexy parasite I wouldn't mind having?"

"A tapeworm," she instantly answered, her face blank.

"Wh-What?" he laughed.

"It'll help you keep that slim figure. Have you ever seen a tapeworm infesting a stomach?"

"I can't say that I have…"

She grabbed his hands and balled them into fists. "I'll show you." Slowly pushing her fingers between his, then wriggling them, she pictured the day she'd gone to a medical oddities exhibit while her team thought she was home with the flu. She'd felt like such a rebel - and kind of an asshole, to be honest - lying to them like that, but she'd wanted a day to herself.

"Until now…" He could see her memory so clearly. It looked like a brain with worms writhing around, sticking out of the little crevices here and there. And goddamnit, Cobra couldn't find it in himself to be disgusted. "Jesus fucking Christ what the fuck is that?!"

A wide grin stretched over Lucy's face while her laughter split the air. Really, Cobra looking horrified was something she'd never thought she would witness. "That would be a dolphin's stomach, infested with tapeworms. Pretty sexy, right?"

"Where was this?" he whispered, looking down at Lucy's still wiggling fingers.

"Oshibana. I saw it just after the Grand Magic Games with the whole Eclipse thing."

"You are more interesting every time you open that pretty little face hole of yours," he grinned.

"Aw, you think my face hole is pretty?" she crooned.

"It's a strong possibility," he chuckled. But once again, she'd surprised him. He loved things like that, but no one else in the guild did. Plus there was the whole _being a wanted criminal who's easily recognized_ thing, that kind of put a damper on going somewhere just to look at the weird shit on display. "You really think something like that is fun?"

"Going to a museum and looking at parasites?" When he nodded, she smiled sweetly. "Yes. If we weren't leaving Fiore soon, I'd say we should've stayed a few days longer in Crocus. There's an exhibit coming up this month with actual corpses that were filled with resin composites during autopsies. You can see everything just like you were dissecting it yourself."

Cobra blinked slowly, watching as Lucy's smile widened and her eyes glittered with excitement. "You're insane," he whispered.

"Well yeah, but where are we headed again?"

"Not a clue," he mumbled. "Blue Waffle! Where are we going next?"

"Ugh," Jellal grumbled. "We're going to Caelum."

Lucy's smile widened and she let out a quiet squeal while wiggling between Cobra's legs. "We have to go," she whispered.

"You keep moving like that, we're not going anywhere…"

Her eyes flashed with desire as he grabbed her ass and pulled her closer. "There's a museum there that I've always wanted to visit."

"Which one?"

"Medieval Torture Instruments," she laughed. "They put wax bodies inside of them so you can see what they do instead of just looking at some weird contraption."

"Jellal," Cobra called out, grinning wickedly. "Ten minutes, tops."

"That… I don't need to know how long it'll take you guys to have weird make-up sex," he groaned.

"Fuck you! To get dressed and packed, you dumb shit!"

Lucy rolled her eyes and gave him a quick peck on the lips before scurrying out of his tent. She nearly tripped over her bag where it sat just in front of the flap, and Lucy giggled and pulled it inside, then grabbed random clothes to get herself ready. She didn't pay any attention to Cobra while putting her clothes on, didn't see how he paused in pulling on a clean shirt to watch her put on a bra. She did, however, have to stop herself from crying out when a sharp pain shot through her left knee from moving it the wrong way.

Once they were dressed, Lucy grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the tent, then turned to find Virgo already breaking it down and whisking it away to the Celestial Realm. Even though she'd never asked, Virgo always came out to pack up their belongings and store them. Except, for some reason, she always made sure to do it when no one was watching. Lucy really wasn't sure why.

"Ready!"

"That…" Jellal blinked as Cobra shook Lucy's hand off of his, then wrapped his arm around her waist. "How did you…"

"Don't worry about it," Lucy laughed. "Let's get to Caelum!"

"She's suddenly extremely happy," Meredy whispered, leaning closer to Midnight to get his opinion on the matter.

The Reflector mage stiffened slightly, then nodded. "I think I heard something about a tapeworm… And torture devices…"

"What the hell were they talking about?" Meredy laughed.

"With Cobra, there are plenty of ways those could come up in a conversation," Angel chuckled from her other side.

"Sure, but Lucy was the one that brought up both," Midnight replied, smirking when the two women stopped dead in their tracks. "C'mon. Don't let the narcoleptic guy be the one that's walking faster than you."

"How are you still moving after he poisoned you?" Meredy asked, running after him. "You're one big walking bandage."

Lucy squealed as Cobra moved and swept her up onto his back, her legs instantly wrapping around his waist and her chin resting on his shoulder. All the walking around that day - stomping, really - was killing her knee. Had he picked her up because he'd heard it?

"Pretty much," he said.

Cobra stopped when Erza came to stand in front of them. His hands tightened on Lucy's thighs and his eye narrowed. "What do you want-"

"This is between me and Lucy," Erza said. "Cobra, could I please speak with her alone?"

"There's no point," he shrugged. "I'll hear it anyway."

"Cobra," Jellal sighed. "Can you just-"

"It's fine," Lucy said. "I'm not getting down right now."

"Lucy-" Jellal began, glancing at Erza to see her gaze lower to the ground.

"My knee is still messed up from when Jackal used his curse on it," Lucy finally admitted. That drew Erza's attention in an instant. "Cobra's helping me rest it for a bit."

"You never had Wendy heal you?"

"No," Lucy said. "I didn't want to bother her. I'll be fine." After a silent moment, she said, "You wanted to talk to me?"

Erza shifted uncomfortably, then sighed when Jellal's hand rested on the small of her back. "I don't want to lose you as a friend," she said slowly. "We could… Maybe…"

Lucy frowned when her voice drifted off. She didn't even have to tap Cobra's shoulder for him to carefully set her on her feet. A sharp pain speared through her thigh from somewhere behind her kneecap, and she nearly stumbled, but he held her tightly until she found her balance. Maybe she should get it looked at, after all.

Slowly, she took a step toward Erza, then another until they were standing only a foot apart. "Erza," she whispered. Their eyes locked and stayed that way for a very long, very uncomfortable moment.

Now that she was awake, feeling more than drained when she thought about the morning she'd had, and looking at the redhead who had been her first female friend… Maybe she hadn't handled things as well as she could have. She'd thrown all the blame on Erza, because she was there. Had it hurt that Erza never called her? Yeah, but she hadn't really tried to call Erza either. Had it sucked that Erza had left Magnolia, and didn't offer to let Lucy come with her? Definitely, but she hadn't asked to go and rebuild the Council with her. Lucy's lips quivered and she lunged forward, crushing the Requip mage in a fierce hug as tears burned at her eyes. It wasn't long before Erza hugged her back just as tightly. Maybe tighter. Lucy was sure she could feel her ribs bruising. But it was the same closeness she'd felt before things had fallen apart.

"Lucy, I'm-"

"N-No," she sniffled. "I'm sorry." She squeezed even tighter than before, and smiled. "You can punch me for being a jackass."

Erza let out a watery laugh, shaking her head all the while. "Never," she whispered. "But I will punch Natsu whenever I see him again. I thought he would take you with him."

They finally pulled apart and Lucy swiped at the tears on her cheeks while Cobra came up beside her. She looked into Erza's teary eyes - it surprised her to see them there, since Erza was always so composed - while climbing onto his back again. "We'll find some time for a girls day, okay?" she whispered. "And we can catch up and all that."

"I'd like that," Erza said.

Lucy smirked and peered around Cobra's head to look at Meredy and Angel. "That includes you two," she said, drawing their attention in an instant.

"What?" Angel asked, her eyes wide.

Erza nodded. "Yes, I would like to find out which cakes you two enjoy."

Lucy giggled and rolled her eyes when Meredy's jaw dropped. "Or just a spa day."

"Both," Erza decided. "Cake and pampering. When you return to Fiore, we will set it up."

Jellal chuckled at the flabbergasted expressions on the women's faces, then turned to Erza. "We have to get going," he said softly. "We'll need to get transportation set up to get to Caelum, and then deal with customs and currency exchange…"

Cobra rolled his eye. "Just fucking kiss her already," he muttered. "You two make me so sick I could-"

Lucy laughed when Erza's face burned a bright shade of red. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to Cobra's scarred cheek, then blew a rather loud raspberry, effectively cutting him off.

"What the fuck?!" Cobra squeaked.

Lucy's grin stayed in place when Midnight and the others chuckled, and her lips brushed over his ear. "Oh, be nice," she whispered.

"That is _not_ in my fucking vocabulary."

"Civil?"

"No."

"Mildly decent?"

"... Maybe," he smirked.

"A little less than a murderous son of a bitch?" she giggled.

Finally, he laughed, and waited for her to switch sides so he could see her out of the corner of his eye. "Fine," he said. "But just a little."

"You guys are so cute!" Meredy squealed.

"Except for that," Lucy said. "Mira 2.0 over there is a whole other ball game."

"Agreed," Cobra said, his lip curling in disgust. "Be glad you don't _hear_ it…"

Lucy rested her chin on his shoulder while he walked away from Erza and Jellal, maybe to give them a minute to say goodbye. She glanced back and smiled when she caught Erza's eye, getting one in return from the redhead.

It wasn't long before they started making their way down the trail, with Erza going in the opposite direction and on her way back to the Council building.

 _"Can I still ask you questions while we go?"_ Lucy silently asked.

"Once for no, twice for yes," he whispered. He was definitely glad that she had realized they could talk this way. Well, she could talk to him this way.

" _Do you really hate kids?"_

Cobra smirked and tapped her thigh once. He hated a lot of things, but kids? No. Their souls were too much fun to listen to. He'd told that woman before that he hated kids simply because he didn't want her to think he was going to be her son's new dad. Lucy already knew that he went out of his way to save children, but he understood that she wanted a definitive answer one way or another.

" _Will you keep my nightmares away every night?"_

He tapped her leg twice, his smirk widening slightly. "I'll sure as hell try."

" _The next time we're alone, I wanna see how long it'll take to get you off from a blowjob."_ Lucy laughed when his fingers tapped her thigh repeatedly. _"My question was if you'd show me what you like…"_

"Definitely, yes."

" _Should I call you Erik in public?"_ He tapped her leg once. _"Cobra in public, and Erik when we're alone?"_ That got her two taps. She could live with that. _"So, we're really together?"_

He waited a moment, then tapped her thigh twice with his thumb before rubbing slow circles over it.

A few months before, she never would have imagined that his answer would make her want to smile, but now things were different. She was different. She was engaged to a psychopath, and really… It didn't bother her as much as it had only thirty minutes prior.

" _Will you break into the museum with me and fuck me in a Scavenger's Daughter?"_

Cobra paused in his step to look at the blonde over his shoulder, his jaw dropping open when she pictured the particular torture device she was asking about. And just how she wanted him to do it.

 _Her head was lowered, blonde hair hanging to the floor. A single iron band wound around her neck, down to shackle her wrists at her sides, then down further to keep her bent over and kneeling on the floor._

 _Strong caramel hands smoothed over her bare hips as he moved behind her._

 _Her head lifted, her pleasured cries muffled by a bit that gagged her. The loud crack of his hand meeting her reddened backside, a feral growl that sent shivers down her spine as his hips slammed against her willing, submissive body._

"You keep this shit up, and I really _will_ fall in love with you," Cobra rasped.

Lucy gave him a serene smile in response. "I'll keep that in mind."

* * *

 **In case you're wondering, there are tons of super creepy museum exhibits for your viewing pleasure around the world. The two referenced in this:**

 _The Bodies Exhibit_ -  
premierexhibitions =dot= com =slash= exhibitions =slash= 4 =slash= 4 =slash= bodies-exhibition

 _The Museum of Medieval Torture Instruments, Amsterdam, the Netherlands_ -  
tortureamsterdam =dot= com

 **And, if you don't know what a Scavenger's Daughter is, I'd suggest googling it. Medieval torture is wicked awesome.**

 **I hope you enjoyed the additions. This story will return in August on Day 4 (Hollow) of CoLu Week 2017.**


	6. 2017 - Sick and Twisted, Part 1

**A/N: We've finally reached Day 4 of CoLu Week 2017. I know you guys have been waiting a month for this, so I hope you enjoy what's to come. Because this got super long, I broke it up into two chapters. You guys will get the other half of this chapter next week.**

 **Also, this is so loosely related to the prompt, it's not even funny. I completely broke away from the outline I'd had, because of the major edits that were made in the previous chapters.**

 **Regardless of all that, let's get to the story.**

* * *

 _ **2017 - Hollow**_

 _ **Sick and Twisted, Part 1**_

* * *

It was a good thing they didn't have to sneak onto a ship to get to Caelum. Aside from the fact that it probably wasn't a good idea in general, the entirety of Crime Sorciere had been extremely surprised to find Cobra turning an alarming shade of green once he stepped onto the ship.

"I guess Second Gens get it too," Lucy giggled.

"Cobra," Jellal said slowly, "Are you alright?"

He nodded and stumbled forward, keeping his head down while the group began moving again. He didn't apologize when bumping into people, even when he knocked a little old woman over. She should have had a better grip on her damn walker. Luckily, Meredy was quick to help her stand and made an excuse for him.

Something about motion sickness and that his fiancée was getting him to his room so he could lie down, and how they were so very sorry, and that if he could talk without vomiting he would be apologizing.

That last part was a stretch. He wasn't sorry. But if his mouth opened, he _was_ going to puke. A lot.

He could feel the boat rocking and they hadn't even left the harbor. It was never like this with Cubellios. Then again, he'd never really had the chance to ride on anything else. Okay, so there was the prison vehicle that had picked him up from Crocus when he'd gone back into custody. He'd been a little queasy, but it wasn't this bad.

"Just a little further, okay?" Lucy moved closer to him and wrapped her arm around his hips, pulling his own across her shoulders. "Is it bad?"

Cobra nodded.

"What's wrong with him?" Angel chuckled.

"Dragon Slayer motion sickness," Lucy said, glancing over her shoulder and smiling right back at her. "Has he ever had it before?"

Cobra shook his head, then burped and threw a hand over his mouth to keep whatever was burning the back of his throat right where it fucking belonged. When they reached their room, he wasn't surprised to have Jellal and Midnight follow himself and Lucy in. There were three places to sleep in each small room - a little on the cramped side already for just three people - but this wasn't some vacation cruise. It was a stupid fucking cargo ship that was hauling ridiculous fucking plates across to Caelum. With bullshit little kittens painted on them. It meant they'd only had to pay a few Jewels each to get rooms. They'd only paid for two of them and had promised to stay out of the crew's way. No matter how small the rooms were.

Well, it was more like they'd bribed the captain of the ship, and Angel had been using her tits to distract the guy, so he'd agreed to let them on without papers saying they could leave the fucking country. Jellal had been the one to decide they would be bunking with the cargo and away from the few other people who had paid for transportation to Caelum, just to sweeten the deal.

On the far side of the room (that wasn't all that far away) sat a twin bed, pushed against the wall and into a corner. Two hammocks that were mostly just heavy rope nets with canvas draped over them, one hanging over the other like a sailor's bunk bed, took up the area just in front of the porthole window. The bulk of the room was filled with stacked crates, giving them just enough space to squeeze by and get to their sleeping quarters.

Lucy was about to lead to him toward one of the hammocks, but he redirected her to the bed. They'd yet to share anything other than her bedroll and tent, so she didn't know that he had to sleep beside a wall. He wouldn't be able to sleep near the door, it was too close to anyone trying to break in. He couldn't sleep under a window, either. Nope, against the far wall with no window, in a fucking corner. That was the best bed in the room.

Besides, if the boat moving wasn't bad enough, then adding a swaying fucking hammock would be worse. His stomach flipped at the thought. Definitely not a good idea.

She didn't question it, and instead just followed his lead, then carefully laid him down. Of course, it wasn't really a damn bed. Just some pallets stacked on top of one another with a thin mat thrown over them for some cushion. And a couple canvas blankets.

"We have about thirty minutes before we leave the dock," Jellal said. "If there's anything you need before we leave Fiore, make it fast." They'd already double-checked to make sure they had everything before boarding, but he wanted to be positive they weren't forgetting anything. Angel and the others would be putting their things away, then going back to town to get some supplies for the trip, but they knew time was limited.

Lucy shook her head and gave him a small smile. "There's nothing left for me in Fiore," she said. "My guild's jumped ship, right?"

Midnight chuckled and pulled himself up onto the top hammock, leaving his feet dangling. "I guess you could say that," he said. "We'll be coming back though."

"Shut up," Cobra moaned. He curled up on the bed and wrapped his arms around his stomach. Maybe extra pressure would make his innards cut the bullshit. Bile shot up into his throat when the ship swayed and he whimpered while throwing a hand over his mouth again.

"I kind of like him this way," Midnight snorted. "He's so quiet."

"F-Fuck y - blrgh…"

Lucy smiled down at him and took a moment to pull her boots off. She turned toward Jellal to find him silently searching every crevice in the small room. Paranoid. "How long will we be sailing for?" she asked.

"A couple weeks."

"This type of ship moves at about 14 knots, so it'll be closer to nine days," Midnight said. When Lucy and Jellal stared at him with wide eyes, he frowned. "It's a frigate."

They stared harder.

"N-Nine?" Cobra whimpered. "Fu - _blrggh_ …"

"What?! I like ships!" Midnight shouted.

Meredy's head peeked through the open doorway and she grinned at the Reflector mage. "Me too!" she chirped.

"Different ships," Jellal sighed as she squeezed past.

Midnight leaned forward and reached down, grabbing Meredy's hand to help pull her up onto his hammock. She scrambled up and rolled onto the net, and her body pressed flush against his side once she'd settled. It couldn't be helped though.

"Is Cobra alright?" she asked, peeking over the edge to find him curled up on the bed, moaning and switching between holding his mouth and stomach while trying to make himself into a literal human cannonball.

"He'll be fine," Lucy said softly. She turned and started removing his shoes, lightly setting them on the floor, then his socks. "Jellal could we find a bucket of some sort? I don't know how long it'll be before he upchucks…"

He nodded and slipped out of the room. Lucy went about carefully trying to pull Cobra's jacket off, then rolled her eyes when all he did was shrug her away and tighten his hold on his stomach. "Erik, come on, you should be comfortable."

"Leave it on him," Midnight said. When Lucy looked at him again, he readjusted slightly on the hammock, sending it swinging just a little and accidentally pushing Meredy closer to him. "Cobra gets cold easily."

"He does?" she asked, frowning. Just one more thing she didn't know about the Poison Slayer, then.

"It's where the bulk of the snake jokes come from," he smirked. "He's cold-blooded."

Lucy rolled her eyes with a smile and looked back down at the bed. Cobra's back was flush against the wall, and with the bed itself really only made for one person, his legs needed to move for her to lie beside him. So, instead of taking his jacket off, Lucy forced him to straighten out, first one leg and then the other. She listened closely while he pulled in deep, quaking breaths through his nose, and laid down. Her fingers sifted through his hair and dragged gently along his scalp. "It's alright, Erik."

Cobra relaxed slowly over the next few minutes. His white-knuckled grip around his stomach loosened, and when Lucy shifted and pulled his head to her chest, he didn't have the energy to fight her on it. Once his cheek pressed against her breast, he could hear the steady thrum of her heart. So soft. Soothing. Gentle enough to make the torrential rage in his stomach calm just a little.

"There you go," she said. She smiled when his arm draped across her hip. "Keep breathing deeply. You'll feel better in no time."

"Mmkay," Cobra hummed. "Wh'ever y'say…'

"The dragon whisperer," Meredy giggled, still peeking through a gap in the canvas over Midnight's hammock to watch the new couple on the bed.

It had been a week since Cobra had tried to murder Midnight. His bandages were off and he was just a little bruised by then, just a few yellowish-green spots here and there that he covered with makeup. But things had definitely been interesting, to say the least. Cobra carried Lucy piggyback for almost an hour every day before she made him put her down so she could walk. He was nearly always touching her though.

He wouldn't hold her hand, and seemed to favor his arm around her, but Meredy was more than fine with watching it. Especially when they started arguing with one another. There wasn't any yelling though. Lucy and Cobra practically whisper-shouted at one another while they tossed around insults. But then every single time, without fail, Lucy would give him this _look_ and he would start laughing. Uncontrollably. And then she'd get a kiss on the cheek and something whispered in her ear that had the blonde's face turning a very alarming shade of red. Every time.

Then there were the nights they shared in Lucy's tent. Sometimes her tent would be empty come morning, and Midnight would simply say that they went out for a walk. Meredy hadn't a clue what the two of them did at night though. Maybe they talked, or looked at the stars. Maybe Lucy told him all about her magic, and he kissed her when they saw a shooting star. Maybe Cobra was really a sweetheart, but only around Lucy, and they snuck off together so he could profess his undying love to her with moonlight cascading down around them.

Maybe...

"Maybe I take her out in the woods and fuck her against a tree," Cobra mumbled. "The fuck is wrong with you?"

Meredy frowned down at him and stuck out her tongue. His eye was closed, but he looked a whole lot more relaxed than before. Maybe it was because of what Lucy was doing, running her fingers through his hair, scratching his head.

Meredy's eyes honed in on how her thumb glided just behind his ear and up over the pointed tip, then how Cobra snuggled closer to her to hide the smile that barely lifted his lips.

"Aren't they adorable?" she sighed.

There was no response from the mage beside her, but she didn't pay any attention to it. Not until pale arms curled around her - she wasn't sure how one had wheedled its way under her body - and then a white braid kissed her cheek. She looked back to Midnight with wide eyes, only to find him fast asleep.

That wasn't good. She was supposed to be helping Angel and Racer get food for the next week. Honestly, she'd only stopped in the room to check on Cobra and see if Lucy needed any help. But then she'd gotten distracted.

Cobra sighed in relief when Lucy used one hand to keep scratching his head while the other lowered and rubbed slow circles over his stomach. "So good," he groaned.

"Midnight," Meredy hissed. "Midnight, wake up."

"He's out," Cobra hummed. "And he's a cuddler."

"Cuddler?" Meredy squeaked. "Oh no. No, I have to-" She tried to move away, and froze a moment later when Midnight mumbled something unintelligible and shifted, taking her right along with him, until they were lying properly on the hammock. "M-Midnight!"

"He's a heavy sleeper," Cobra said. "Just cuddle."

"No!"

Cobra frowned and lifted his head just a little, propping his chin on Lucy's chest as he looked up at where Meredy struggled to pull free of Midnight's hold. "Don't wake his ass up," he said.

"Angel's gonna kill me!"

"Do you have any…" He paused when saliva flooded his mouth, closing his eye against the sudden wave of nausea rolling over him. He didn't fight it when Lucy gently pushed his head to lie on her chest again. "Fuck… Any fucking clue how little he sleeps now?"

Meredy was silent, but he heard her mulling it over. Everyone knew that Midnight was awake at night, and he never complained about them constantly being on the move during the day, even though it meant the only time he was able to sleep happened to be just before they broke down the camp every morning.

Before, when he'd still had that damn magic carpet, Midnight had been asleep almost constantly. Well, it only seemed that way because it could be the middle of the fucking day and he'd be found snoozing.

Now, he was only getting fifteen minutes of sleep, tops, in a day.

Still, Meredy tried to get Midnight to let her go.

Lucy bit her lips and looked up toward the hammock, then let out a devious grin. Cobra's hand slid down from her hip to tap twice on her thigh in agreement. "Aw, aren't they just so cute?" she crooned. "Look at how he's holding her."

"Mm," Cobra muttered.

"I think they're an adorable _couple_ ," Lucy continued, lowering her voice to a stage whisper. "What should we call them? Midnedy or Mernight?"

"Could call them Merbeth," Cobra smirked. "Or Macedy."

"Where did that come from?" Lucy giggled.

"His real name is Macbeth," he said.

Meredy blinked and looked up at Midnight's sleeping face. She couldn't stop herself from noticing how long his mascara-coated lashes were. She would have been blind not to see the coal liner or his night-black lips. But his name was really Macbeth? She vaguely remembered Jellal trying to get everyone go by their real names, but that hadn't lasted very long. Macbeth _did_ sound a little familiar though.

And it was a nice name. She kind of preferred it to Midnight, in all honesty.

"I like Mernight better," Lucy said. "Maybe Mere-night, I don't know."

Cobra shook his head and burrowed closer to her before she could try and pull away. He didn't care that she needed to piss. Her hands were fucking magical and they were the only thing stopping him from feeling like death warmed over. "Don't go."

"I'll be back soon," she laughed. "Meredy won't bother you. And if you have to throw up, just don't do it on the bed."

"Asshole."

"You love it."

"I'd love it more if you let me _in_ it."

"No." Besides, Lucy needed to figure out where the nearest bathroom was in relation to their room, because she was _not_ going to be sharing a bed with Cobra for nine days without him showering. Or getting a bucket of water thrown on him, at the very least. Ripe man stink was something that she refused to snuggle with if it could be helped. Dire consequences could change her mind about it temporarily, but his motion sickness was not dire. No matter how he felt about it.

"Asshole."

Lucy grinned and slid away from him, then stood and watched as Cobra's limp body rolled into the place she'd just been occupying. His face pressed into the mattress, and she could swear she saw him draw in a rather large inhale. She kissed his cheek, then his earring, and pulled on her boots before leaving the room.

The minutes dragged on in silence.

"Midnight, you can sleep all you want," Meredy said. "But just let me get up!"

"Seriously, shut the fuck up," Cobra snarled.

"But he's touching me!"

"He doesn't have the fucking plague." Cobra's head shifted enough so he could look at her while keeping his nose buried in the bedding. It still smelled like Lucy, and if she wasn't going to be in the bed with him right then, then smelling her was the next best thing.

' _Oh, I know he doesn't… But this really isn't good for my brain. Why are his hands so soft? Oh my god, he's touching my thigh! No! But his hands feel nice. He's not being creepy about it. Or grabbing me… Wish he would… He's just sleeping…'_

Cobra rolled his eye and buried his face in the bed again. They were two peas in a fucking pod. The last thing he was going to do was help them figure it out though. It wasn't his job to be a fucking matchmaker, or to let Midnight know that Meredy had had a crush on him back when she was only fucking twelve and still part of Grimoire Heart.

Just like he wasn't telling Meredy that Midnight had been eighteen when he saw her for the first time and just bumbled his way through the few meetings their guilds had because he was too fucking nervous around her. Because Midnight had been weirded the hell out over realizing that he found someone so young to be attractive. In any way.

Cobra had listened closer at the time though - back when he gave a couple more shits about things - and found that Midnight just liked talking to her. A lot. And that he thought she was pretty. It wasn't until Meredy had grown up that the physical, and sexual, attraction had come in. Midnight hadn't thought about Meredy _that way_ until she actually had a woman's body - when she'd gone from being pretty to being beautiful and breathtaking so fucking sexy, according to Midnight's inner monologue. When Jellal had gotten them out of prison, the poor Reflector mage had nearly doubled over from seeing her all grown up.

It hadn't taken much to convince Midnight to join Crime Sorciere because of that reason. He wanted to spend more time with Meredy.

"Cobra, can you _please_ help?" she whimpered.

"You want help?" he mumbled against the bed.

"Yes!"

"Alright, I'll help. He'll sleep better if you take those stupid fucking braids out and play with his hair." She groaned in frustration and a sly grin lifted his lips before she could say another word. "Dream come true, right? Now you get to touch his hair."

"I-I didn't say-"

"I hear you."

Meredy scowled and ignored the roaring flush to her face. Midnight shifted slightly and her gaze drifted higher to the braid draped over his cheek. Her fingers itched to loosen the bead enclosure and undo the plaited strands, to finally touch the two-toned hair she'd been enamored with since first seeing him so many years ago.

That was her own little secret though. Or, it had been before Cobra wriggled his way into her head.

He had a point though. Meredy had always wanted to spend time with Midnight like this. Except she _really_ loved her sleep, and he was usually so exhausted when she was awake enough to talk. He was always too tired to have a full conversation with her. But if she just stayed there - it wasn't like she could really get out of his snuggle-hold anyway - then they could hang out when he was awake.

Slowly, she removed his braid, tucking the bead enclosure in his pants pocket so it didn't get lost. Even slower than that, she lightly touched the ends of his hair. "So soft."

Meredy bit her lips and pulled more hair between her fingers, glancing up here and there to make sure that Midnight wasn't waking up. Or staring at her. She would die if that happened. But he was still slumbering, still dead to the world, and he probably would be for some time. When she thought about it though, they'd been moving at double speed for the last few days to make it to the docks in time to get on a boat to Caelum. She was feeling pretty drained herself.

Meredy let go of his hair and removed the band holding her own pink locks in a high ponytail. She smiled once the pressure against her scalp was gone, and relaxed in Midnight's arms. Maybe a little nap wasn't such a bad idea.

And it wasn't like Midnight would do anything to her while she was sleeping. Evil past and vaguely perverted nosebleeds aside, she knew better than anyone that he wasn't a creep. Midnight had always been a gentleman with her. With Angel and Lucy as well, when she thought about it. It wasn't like he would start feeling her up or trying to rape her or anything.

They were guild mates though, and that meant - in this new dynamic that everyone was still growing accustomed to - she could trust him to have her back. To take care of her while she was so vulnerable.

"I'll make sure everyone knows you were coerced," Cobra chuckled. "Nighty night."

"Shut up, Cobra," she muttered. Meredy closed her eyes and allowed herself to get a little more comfortable in Midnight's arms.

Twenty minutes went by before she began snoring quietly, and Cobra blinked slowly as he looked up at the top hammock. "You're a sneaky asshole," he said.

Midnight's lips twitched slightly, but his eyes stayed closed and he didn't move away from her. Cobra had agreed to help, after all. He'd just never said whether he was actually helping Meredy. Or even Midnight. Mostly, it was himself. If Meredy just accepted the snuggling she was being forced into - like she really fucking wanted to do anyway - then it would be quiet. And if it was quiet, then Cobra could relax a little more while he waited for Lucy to come back.

It had been a bit since she'd left the room, but when he sent his magic soaring across the ship, he found her just a few doors down the hall, talking to Virgo and thanking the spirit for bringing her some tampons during her emergency bathroom stop.

Well, it wasn't like he would be getting laid anyway while they were travelling. He was too nauseous, and they were sharing a room with other people. He didn't really mind it all that much, but Lucy probably would. Definitely the best time for her period to start, from his perspective.

Then again, when he heard that she had cramps with pain radiating down to her fucking ankles, Cobra realized she didn't really share that sentiment.

* * *

Cobra kissing the ground in Caelum would be burned into her memory forever, that was for sure. He'd looked so genuinely happy to be on solid ground and off the ship after nine days at sea. Even though they'd gotten to port a little before noon, and it was already well after sunset, Lucy was still wracked with the occasional giggle over the mental picture.

Cobra, however, didn't find it so funny. The way he kept pinching her ass every time she laughed and the harsh glare he sent her way was enough reason for her to try and keep it to herself. It didn't work.

"We should be a little more free to move around here," Jellal said once everyone sat around the fire.

"You mean because it's another country and the Oracion Seis never left Fiore," Angel said with a smirk.

"Or maybe because Grimoire Heart was the same," Meredy giggled.

"Dark guilds just really dig Fiore," Lucy laughed.

"And Mister Siegrain over here kept his insanity in Fiore as well," Midnight chuckled.

"The island that the Tower of Heaven was on is technically the property of Caelum," Jellal said. He winced when everyone but Meredy and Lucy glared at him. "B-But no one knew what was going on there. It was in this kingdom's jurisdiction, but they didn't know there was anything happening on the island."

"Who even authorized that bullshit?" Cobra asked.

"No one," Jellal said. "The Council in Fiore didn't know about it until X784. I stopped Erza from being tortured in X776 by the cultists that were running it, but then they took me instead and… well, you guys know what happened after that. I was crazy, but at least there were better living conditions..."

Midnight looked at the others, then back to Jellal and slowly placed a hand on his shoulder. Jellal's downcast eyes shot up to look at the Reflector mage beside him. "Now we know," he said. "No one ever told us why we were taken there."

Jellal's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"We were just kids," Angel laughed. "Do you really think someone sat us down while we were being kidnapped and said, 'So here's the deal. There's a cult that's going to force you to build a tower and beat you half to death if you don't listen. Oh and by the way, there's been a coup and now there's just a kid running things'? None of us knew why we were taken away from our homes and families."

Racer nodded. "I barely remember the time after you took over though. Brain took us before anything really changed, didn't he?"

"Yeah," Midnight said. "It was almost a year afterward though."

"Not like it was much better with him," Cobra mumbled. He kept his glaring eye trained on Jellal when everyone turned toward him with matching frowns.

"Cobra, don't start on that," Angel huffed. "It was much better with Brain than being forced into hard labor and beaten all day and wishing you could just go home."

"Says the one who just got some fucking keys tossed their way," he said. He forced himself to stay relatively calm when Lucy gently pulled his hand into her lap and started lightly tracing his fingers. Relaxing as it was, he was still pissed. Thinking about the past always made him that way.

"We know," Midnight sighed. "You never asked Brain to cut you open and put the lacrima in, but you have to admit it was definitely helpful."

"So, how about a subject change?" Meredy asked. Was it smooth? No, but she could feel the tension rising in the air pretty rapidly.

"How about we hash it the fuck out for a change?" Cobra asked.

"Erik," Lucy said, "Maybe this isn't the best time to-"

He turned his hate-filled glare to her and pulled his hand away. "It is," he spat. "Not that you'd understand it, considering you and everyone else here actually had a goddamn _family_ to begin with. You weren't even a fucking slave, so shut the fuck up because you don't know a goddamn thing about what _pain_ really is!"

"Cobra, that's enough," Jellal said as Lucy's jaw dropped open and she drew back from the Poison Slayer.

"No, Slave Driver, I'll say when it's enough," he sneered. "You wanna feel good about the fact that you _made things better_ , but it was too little, too fucking late. Me and the others still remember what it was like being tortured there, and Titania was the only one lucky enough to get a fucking pass."

"Cobra, stop," Hoteye said gently. "You need to relax-"

"Oh, fuck you, Koolaid Man! Why don't you ask Jellal why he never mentioned your little brother being friends with him and Erza? Better yet, call up Erza and tell her to talk to Milliana over in fucking Mermaid Heel, because that kitty bitch knows where the fuck he is!"

Everyone always wanted him to shut up, but they didn't get why he hated Jellal so fucking much. Cobra wanted the asshole dead, but there was never a right time for it. Sure, he'd wanted to stick with the others, and Midnight's decision to join Crime Sorciere had kind of pushed everyone else in that direction as well, but it was bullshit.

Just like the shit Jellal had pulled to get them to join in the first place. Sure, he'd asked them to join, but he'd also beaten all of them into submission to do it. Boo-fucking-hoo, he'd scratched at his eyes so Midnight's illusions hadn't affected him. If the guy had to enslave them all over again, then how the fuck did he think he was actually making up for what he'd done in the past?

Then there was the guild mark issue. Cobra really hadn't been happy about that.

"Wally is…"

"Alive and fucking well, and the blue waffle over here has the means of helping you find him, but he's never even offered it."

"Cobra, if you knew why didn't you say anything?" Jellal asked.

"It's not my fucking job to coddle people," he spat. "You drag our asses every which way, and not _once_ have you given a shit about what we really want. Angel wants to find her sister, but have you done a fucking thing about that? No. Did you even take the time to ask if there was something she wanted now that we're not in prison or stuck under Brain's thumb? No! Meredy is willing to follow you to the end of the fucking world because that's what Ultear would have wanted. But what about Midnight? What about what I fucking want? Yeah, we agreed to go after Zeref, and I get that that's a huge fucking deal, but you need to pull your head out of your ass and think about something aside from _atoning_ or Erza's strawberry snatch for five fucking seconds."

"Cobra, come on," Midnight said slowly. He edged away from Jellal just a little and kept his eyes trained on the angry Slayer.

Angel shifted where she sat, trying to get Lucy's attention. Except instead of Lucy looking her way, it was Cobra, glaring and growing more tense by the second. "You want her to move?" he hissed. "You really think I'm gonna hurt her right now?"

"No," she said carefully. "Just when you get like this, sometimes your poison leaks out."

"I know how to fucking control myself."

"You really don't," Jellal said. The attention was drawn back to him in an instant, but he didn't flinch away from the heavy weight of Cobra's burning gaze. "If you don't want to pussyfoot around about anyone's feelings, then I won't do that with you either, Erik."

"Don't call me that," he spat.

"But it's your name," Jellal said. "Yes, you got the name Cobra from working with Brain, but we all know just how much you hated him before you killed him. And even now. Yet you insist on using the name that a man you hated gave to you."

"And that's my goddamn choice, asshole. You took enough of my fucking choices away from me. I decide who calls me that and who doesn't. I don't give a shit if you know what it is, since the only reason you know in the first place is because I was born in that slice of hell you made for all of us, and-"

"Erik, please," Lucy said softly. "Just calm down, okay? Jellal is just-"

Cobra rounded on her again, so quickly his vision blurred. "Don't fucking tell me what to do!"

Lucy's drew back from the intensity of his voice, but that hadn't scared her. Not nearly as much as seeing a thin trail of blood dripping down from his nose did. And when she looked into his eye, she found his pupil had fully dilated, only for it to thin to a point. Then dilate again. Far too rapidly to be healthy.

"Look, Erik-" Jellal began.

"Shut up, Jellal," Lucy said. She leaned forward and placed her hands on Cobra's shoulders. "Erik, are you okay?"

His brow furrowed and when he licked his lips, all he could taste was blood. Sickly sweet and coppery. His blood. He'd know that taste anywhere. Why the fuck was his heart pounding? He'd been angry, sure, but he never got worked up quite like this. Not in a long time.

"I-I don't feel so good."

It felt as though someone had laid a vulcan on his chest and suddenly he just couldn't breathe. To anyone else, he was breathing normally. To Cobra, he couldn't pull enough air into his lungs.

In a matter of seconds, his anger was gone entirely. Instead it was fear coursing through him, because he didn't understand what the hell was happening, why he wasn't angry and yelling, why he felt the same way he used to when that guard pulled him away from his cell, when he'd been left waiting for his torture to begin again and again.

"Belle, I… I-I don't…" He tried so hard just to focus on Lucy's face, but then the ground tilted sideways and it was as though he was going right along with it. If it hadn't been for her hands on his shoulders, he would have toppled over. "I don't f-feel right…"

"You should lay down," she said. He could hear the worry in her voice and how it echoed in her soul. How that somehow rippled through all the souls around him and ricocheted right between his ears. And even though Cobra had spent most of his life not trusting anyone, when Midnight came closer and helped Lucy guide him to his feet, he trusted them. Especially because his legs just wouldn't work right.

One foot went in front of the other, but the ground just kept wobbling. When Cobra looked at the tent he shared with Lucy, the flap fluttered in the wind, and suddenly everything shifted in the opposite direction. He stumbled more than once, but Midnight and Lucy both caught him. Time and again, they held him up until he was in the confines of the tent, sitting on the new bedroll he and Lucy had gotten that was large enough for both of them with a spare blanket tucked away for the coming winter months.

Lucy removed his jacket and shoes and socks while Midnight blotted at his sweaty face with a towel that Cobra hadn't heard him grab.

"What's wrong with m-me?"

"I don't know," Lucy said softly. She still smiled while looking into his eye though, and her hands were so soft and gentle as they rested on his cheeks. "But maybe you just need to relax for a bit. We were travelling for a long time."

"Y-Yeah…" Except he'd been resting almost non-stop for the past week. He should have had all the rest his body could handle. But when he thought about it, he did feel tired.

"And you did stay in that cramped room for almost the entire trip," Midnight added. "I think you just got a little stir-crazy."

"M-Maybe," he said, still looking into Lucy's eyes while the world around her twisted and turned. But this wasn't how Cobra felt when he was locked in a room too long. That usually left him itching to kill something, not uncoordinated and scared out of his fucking mind.

"Remember how it used to be?" Midnight blotted at Cobra's nose and carefully wiped away the drying blood on his upper lip. "If you were in a room for too long, you got sick when you came out." At least, that's how it had been before Cobra started killing everything he came across. He had to sleep outside for days on end with just Cubellios for company if he'd stayed inside too long. He had to have fresh air around him. He never left the Oracion Seis compound without permission, just stayed by the wall, but he'd apparently needed more than four walls closing in on him.

"Maybe don't bring up the past right now," Lucy said. She didn't look away from Cobra though. She held his gaze, even when her fingers slid behind his ears and up into his hair. "Erik, are you feeling a little better?"

"I don't know…"

"Your eye isn't freaking out anymore," she said. But he heard her soul whispering that he should see a doctor just in case. She was worried that he'd been having a seizure, that there was something wrong and if they didn't get him to a doctor that night, then he wouldn't make it. In a matter of seconds, a part of her soul had planted the seed of doubt that he wouldn't live through the night. And through it all, she kept smiling at him, forcing herself to wear a brave face, to keep him calm even though he could hear how worried she was.

"Maybe I should just sleep for a bit," he said. He felt off. Everything felt wrong. His fingers were tingling, like he'd been sitting on them for an hour and the blood was starting to rush back in. Just the fingertips though. Lucy nodded and helped him lie down, brushing his hair back and away from his face. "Stay with me?"

She glanced toward Midnight, who simply blinked back at her before leaving the tent and closing the flap behind him. He could hear her shuffling inside and lying down, and he waited for another moment while the two got more comfortable.

"Come here," Lucy said gently. "It's alright. You just hold on tight, okay? I'm staying with you."

"Thanks…"

Midnight went back toward the rest of the group and took a seat where he'd been before, between Jellal and Meredy.

The only sounds to be heard came from the crackling fire. No one wanted to speak. They didn't have anything to say right then. And when they heard soft, feminine humming coming from the only occupied tent in their little camp, they didn't want to disrupt the calm that Lucy was trying to give Cobra right then.

It went on for several minutes, until eventually she was silent. Midnight looked at Jellal then. "We have some things to discuss," he said softly.

"You can say that again," Jellal muttered. "What just happened to him?"

"Not a clue," Midnight said. He wasn't a doctor, how could he possibly diagnose Cobra with anything other than being a psychopath? It didn't take a degree to see _those_ symptoms in the Poison Slayer. "But about the Tower. We probably shouldn't have talked about it."

"Why?" Jellal asked, frowning as he looked toward the others.

"Cobra's touchy about it," Angel said. "He always has been."

"It actually used to make him have panic attacks," Hoteye said. "But those stopped a long time ago."

"You know," Meredy said, "Cobra acts like an asshole all the time, but you guys are always tip-toeing around him. Why do you care more about his feelings than he does about yours?"

"He does care," Racer shrugged. "Just, in his own way."

"And making excuses for him," Jellal sighed.

"If he didn't care, he never would have brought up that thing about Hoteye's brother," Midnight said.

"If he cared, he would have said something well beforehand," Jellal countered. He looked toward Hoteye then. "I had no idea that I knew your brother."

"It's fine," he said, still looking at the tent Cobra and Lucy were in.

"It's none of his business," Angel said. "Cobra might exploit the things he hears when it suits him, but he really does try not to pry."

"Could have fooled me," Jellal said. Still, he could understand that a little. Cobra's magic was something innate, something he couldn't just turn off whenever he wanted to. There was no switch for hearing souls the way he did. But he hardly tried to use that magic he'd been gifted with for anything outside of his own personal gain. Whether it was in a battle or just some petty argument, Cobra did things to suit himself.

"Well what about your sister?" Meredy asked Angel. "You've never mentioned her before."

Angel's eyes lowered to the fire. "I'm not ready to look for her yet," she said. "But he knows that's what I really want to do. I want to find her, just to know that she's okay…"

"And you, Racer?" Jellal asked.

He shrugged. "Don't have a clue," he said. "All I ever wanted was to be able to outrun anyone who was chasing me. I'm fine with looking for Zeref. Moreso now, since it was some stupid _cult_ running things in the Tower to begin with."

"Midnight?"

"It's not important right now," he said. "If it ever _is_ , I'll let you know." He sighed and looked up into the sky, smiling softly for a moment at the stars. "We don't tiptoe around him though. We've spent years with Cobra, and he knows when to stop pushing us, just like we usually know when to stop pushing him."

"And when you don't?" Meredy asked.

"He'll punch someone and storm off, go kill something, and then come back feeling better," Angel said. "Well, he punches the guys. He always just yelled at me if I pissed him off."

"The point is," Midnight said, "We should have stopped that conversation before it even started. No matter what Cobra says about wanting answers concerning the Tower, the fact is that he can't _handle_ answers about it."

"But why?" Jellal asked. "That's what I don't understand."

"Because Cobra's mother was raped by one of the guards, and he's the product of it," Angel said softly.

"And the guard who fathered him was the same one who always beat him once he was old enough to start doing labor," Hoteye added. "He even gave Cobra extra beatings at night or forced him to keep working, refused him the few rations we got, and made sure he almost always went without water."

"He was trying to kill Cobra," Racer said. "And he was the first person Cobra ever killed, because of Brain."

"All he's ever known is people stopping him from doing things," Midnight said. "People holding him back, telling him _no_ , hurting him for wanting things. I won't even begin trying to make excuses for the things he's done, but you have to understand Jellal… What he does might not be right, but there's a reason that he is the way he is."

"It doesn't matter what he looks like when everyone sees him," Racer said. "The only person who's seeing anything behind that asshole façade he puts on, is in that tent with him."

"You really think he lets Lucy see it?" Meredy asked softly.

"I know he does," Racer chuckled. "Because otherwise she'd be kicked out and he would be by himself. The fact that he kept her in there means a whole lot of something."

After a moment of watching Lucy's tent, Jellal sighed. "Fine," he said. "I'll talk to him about it another time. What I was getting at originally though is that, even though we're in Caelum and should be able to move around freely, just be cautious and keep your guild marks hidden."

"Speaking of guild marks," Meredy said, frowning. "How come Lucy doesn't have one yet?"

Everyone went quiet, so quiet that the only thing to be heard was the buzz of cicadas and the crackling fire. Lucy had been part of the guild for a month, but when Meredy brought it up, they all realized that she'd never gotten her guild mark. Jellal had never even offered to give her one, and she hadn't asked. She still had her Fairy Tail mark though, so he'd just assumed that she hadn't wanted to part with it.

"Are you kidding me?" Angel hissed to Jellal. "Jellal, we got our marks right away."

But all he could wonder was if she really did want a guild mark. Maybe things would be easier for her if she could just leave them whenever she wanted, without having to have the mark of a former-criminals' guild on her body.

It was something that Jellal had decided when forming Crime Sorciere with Ultear and Meredy. Once a member had the mark, that was it. They could never get rid of it. This was their final guild. Each member who had one knew that before getting it, and all of them - even Cobra, who had been threatening him for an hour after the explanation - agreed to it, because it was what they wanted.

He would have to get rid of her Fairy Tail mark and brand her as one of them for good. But Lucy wasn't a criminal. She'd never sinned and didn't need to atone for the pain she'd caused. She wasn't like them in that respect, and a large part of Jellal didn't want her to have one. It wasn't her cross to bear.

"Way to make her feel welcome," Midnight groaned.

He'd let her join them in the first place because she was a friend of Erza's, and he'd been worried about her when she showed up in their camp. If anything, Lucy being around them for just a little while would maybe brighten things up, and then she would eventually move on and continue living a normal life.

At least, that's what he'd thought. But she'd stayed.

She'd grown attached to the former Oracion Seis members, more than just through her relationship with Cobra. She had brightened up their days little by little, and had tamed some of the intensity that the Poison Slayer exuded when he was feeling particularly agitated. Usually by grabbing his hands, leaning against him, just touching him in general. Cobra was less likely to start flinging poison if Lucy was close enough to get caught in it.

Everyone wanted her around, and he knew for a fact that Lucy felt like she had a home with them.

It was a broken home, but a home either way for her. For all of them.

She was so innocent compared to them, though. Lucy had never been part of a dark guild. She'd never gone on murdering sprees, or enslaved children and forced them into hard labor, or abused her spirits. She loved everyone, cared for them and gave them a second chance. She was naive, and that was something Jellal really didn't want to take away from her.

"Jellal, you're fail whaling all over the place right now," Meredy sighed.

He just wanted to help protect her a little bit. But then he remembered what he'd told Erza that day two weeks prior. Lucy didn't need to be protected, and he wasn't going to treat her any differently than the others just because she was Erza's friend.

He'd been a hypocrite once again. At least this was something that could be fixed easily. Assuming Lucy actually wanted to go through with it.

* * *

Lucy lifted the hood of her dark blue cloak and peered through the pouring rain at the town around them. Slick paved streets made the path for them to follow. There wasn't a cobblestone in sight between the towering structures in Caelum's capital. It was cold and uninviting here, far too structured and orderly. So sterile.

No wonder these people hadn't noticed a huge tower being constructed somewhere off the coast of the kingdom. They were too busy creating a mecca of infrastructural anomalies right there _in the middle_ of the country.

Neon signs lit up storefronts and fluorescent bulbs filled in the gaps. The streetlights were a pale orange glow, instead of the normal blue from lacrima powered lighting.

But the stupid rain was ruining everything. She wanted to enjoy the city, except there hadn't been a pause in the downpour since they'd come out of the forest between the shore and civilization. They hadn't realized until reaching the city that there was actually a road leading from the port, and if they'd taken a gas-powered vehicle it would have been a twenty-four hour ride on something called a highway. Instead they'd spend two months getting there, trudging through the forest, camping just like they did in Fiore.

If the rain wasn't bad enough, there was the humidity. The air felt heavier with each step she took through puddles on the sidewalk.

It was so odd to see people not walking in the streets, because there were too many vehicles moving around.

It made her wonder what their marketplace looked like.

"Jellal, this is ridiculous," Angel groaned. "Let's just find an inn and get out of the rain, okay?"

He nodded his agreement. Apparently no one was enjoying having waterlogged boots. They made their way further into the heart of the city and eventually stopped for Jellal to ask someone for directions. He ignored the odd looks the little food cart owner gave him, and instead led the group to the hotel they'd been directed toward.

The rooms were cheaper than they would have expected based on how opulent the hotel was. What would have been nearly two thousand Jewels a night back home was only seventeen Karms. The exchange rate had made them exceedingly wealthy, apparently. Well, they weren't royalty rich, but they could afford to sleep in hotels, at the very least.

When they reached their rooms, it was even more apparent that there was definitely something strange about Caelum. They used electricity for the lighting and appliances, instead of a lacrima. Nothing was run on magical power there. Lucy wondered if it meant that no one in Caelum used magic. Was it maybe outlawed?

"Meeting with Jellal in his room in an hour," Cobra said while he closed the door to his and Lucy's room.

She nodded and searched for the bathroom. That was the most important thing right then. Because she was soaked and freezing and she needed a nice hot shower. Immediately. She flipped the switch and her eyes lit up at the sight laid before her. Cream tiles lined the floor with limestone countertops sitting over rich oak cupboards. The shower was surrounded by glass with a large stone bathtub beside it.

"Shit. And we paid how much for this?"

"Not enough," she whispered in awe. Lucy took a step forward, then paused and looked down at herself. She was a hot mess and a half. Walking in there the way she was would just mess it all up, dripping rainwater all over the place. "Get undressed at the door, okay?"

"You're ridiculous."

"Humor me."

Cobra chuckled and reached up to the clasp of her cloak, then let it fall to the floor before moving to stand in front of her. Lucy's clothes were soaked, even though she'd been covered with the cloak, but he was in much the same predicament. He peeled her white tube top off, sliding it down to her waist instead of trying to pull it over her head. "Someone forgot a bra," he said.

Lucy gasped when his hands caressed just beneath her breasts, and his thumbs moved higher in teasingly slow circles until he was pinching her nipples and his lips closed over hers. Goosebumps rippled over her body and she inched closer to him until she came to his own wet clothes. That just wouldn't do at all.

Because she knew for a fact that he did get cold very quickly. And if she was feeling chilly, then he had to be freezing. A soft moan left her when Cobra's hands slid down to her skirt. He'd watched her get dressed that morning, which meant he had no issue finding the zipper and removing it and her shirt and panties, leaving all of the soaked fabric pooled at her ankles.

Lucy clutched at his shoulders and gulped down precious air when his lips trailed across her jaw and his fingers slipped between her trembling legs. "N-Not fair," she rasped.

"Get my clothes off then," he said, grinning as his teeth skimmed her flesh. "I can wait."

"Oh, please don't," she whimpered. He paused and she was left wondering what he had rattling around in his head. Would he pull back and wait until he was naked before touching her? Would he make her wait until they were in the shower and warm again? Maybe Cobra would force her to wait until they were fully washed and dried before giving in and making her scream.

Part of her was terrified at the thought of having to bathe with him and not get what she wanted. But there was something else that surprised her. It excited her, not knowing when he would take her, or even if he would. He was too unpredictable to figure it out.

Would he want to fuck her in the shower though? Maybe in that bathtub over there? On the counter, holding her legs up and making it so she could see just what he was doing to her? Only on the bed, since they'd yet to have sex in an actual bed? Maybe he wanted her on her knees in the shower, giving him a blowjob and trying not to get waterboarded in the process.

Lucy gasped when her body was slammed into the wall. Cobra roughly claimed her lips in a sloppy, needy kiss and pressed his cold, still-clothed body against her. His hands moved over her in desperation, her thighs and hips and breasts until one wrapped around her throat and the other worked loose the zipper on his pants.

She pushed his boxers out of the way, and set her shaking grip around his length. She still couldn't get over how hot he was, how ready for her whenever they were like this. Lucy pumped him slowly, even with the ferocity of his movements driving her to the brink of bliss. He pinched her nipples, pulled them enough for her to cry out in pain - nearly enough to break her out of the moment entirely - and then he was actually choking her.

It was just enough pressure to constrict her airway without hurting her as his lips moved to her ear.

"Think about that shit again, and I won't be gentle," he growled. "Fuck, I love your imagination."

Lucy smiled at the sound of his quivering inhale. Her puckered nipples brushed against his shirt and sent tendrils of pleasure rippling through her. But it was too rough against her tender flesh. Much more of that and it really would take things from tantalizing to uncomfortable, and she didn't want that. His grip on her throat tightened in warning. He knew just what she was going to do, and maybe he didn't want her to, but Lucy didn't care.

"Who said I wanted gentle?" Her hands lifted to his collar and she pulled with all the force she could muster, sending buttons flying and ripping the stitching along the hem as his scarred flesh was finally bared for her hands to explore.

Cobra spun her so quickly that Lucy nearly tripped over the clothes around her feet, then drove into her without warning, without muffling her sudden cry of shock at being filled so roughly. He didn't wait for her to adjust before he started moving, withdrawing until his cock was barely inside of her before slamming in again until his hips were flush against her ass.

"You ripped my shirt," he snarled in her ear. She clawed at the wall when his pace quickened and his low growl vibrated through her body. "Fuck, Belle… So sexy!"

He grabbed her jaw and forced her head to turn to the side, and Lucy couldn't find the will to pull away when his tongue plunged between her lips. She could hardly hear their skin slapping over the heady sound of her moans mixing with his own. His chest pressed against her back, letting her feel the multitude of scars on him each time he moved. His hips shifted and she broke away from the kiss on a crackling scream of his name.

He hadn't been rough like this for some time. Not since that night before Erza had found out about them. The week after that, and the time they'd spent in Caelum so far, may have had them fucking in the woods, away from camp so they could have more privacy, but Cobra had been much more gentle. Every time they were together like this, writhing and clutching at one another, she wondered if it would be the gentle lover who'd brought tears to her eyes just last week where they'd laid in a patch of dewy grass under the stars, or this beast who ravaged her body and made her crave each spine-tingling snap of his hips.

But in that moment, Lucy knew it was his wilder side, the ravenous beast that coiled its way around in his soul and came out screaming its fury.

One arm hooked under her leg and lifted, and she was surprised by the loud moan that spilled past his lips. Cobra wasn't one for being too loud during sex. He didn't talk much when he was lost in pleasure. There was an occasional grunt or growl, but nothing quite like that. Her back arched and she tried to push back against him, ripping another moan from the Poison Slayer.

"F-Fuck," he rasped. "Fuck, yes! Don't stop." Cobra pulled back enough to set his gaze between their bodies and went still. He watched as she pressed her body to the wall, then tilted her hips and forced herself back onto his rigid cock.

Even standing on one foot, with the other held perched in the air, she could still move this way. He could watch her body contort for hours as she rode him, even against the damn wall. He could listen to her breathy whimpers morph into quivering moans of his name when his fingers started relentlessly teasing her clit. Nothing would give him greater pleasure than to hear her crying out in pained ecstasy when his hand came sailing down on her ass, and Cobra's eye rolled back when her tight passage constricted around him.

"Oh god, Erik… Erik! Yes!"

His eye flashed with excitement and he dropped her leg to the floor. His pace slowed long enough for his hand to wind in her hair and gently pull her head back - the last thing he wanted was to snap her neck from getting too excited - until it rested on his shoulder. He led her back, forcing her to take small, stuttering steps while he was buried in her, until his back was pressed against the opposite wall.

Lucy's back arched and she started to move when his free hand wrapped around her hip. Slow at first, setting her own pace even though he could hear that she wanted him to fuck her into the ground.

"Dirty bitch," Cobra rasped in her ear. He grinned at the instant effect it had on her. How he could hear her nerves lighting up and how it had caught her off guard. "Couldn't even get your boots off before opening up your legs for me."

"Shut up," she gasped.

"You were _desperate_ for it," he growled. His breath stuttered when she slammed back onto him and swirled her hips.

' _Call me dirty again… Damn, he sounds sexy like that…'_

"Worse than dirty," he said. Cobra's hand slipped between her legs and he spread her lips open while rocking his hips to push just a little deeper. "Filthy. Fuck you're so wet. Nasty little bitch." It was a good thing he caught the wisping thought that she didn't want him to call her a slut or anything like it. Apparently, that would actually piss her off, even if it was just a little roleplaying during sex. It was fine though. _Bitch_ seemed to work wonders for the time being.

"Sh-Shut up…"

While her brain was too busy questioning what had come over him, why he was suddenly talking during sex and why he'd decided to start talking _dirty_ , Cobra listened to her soul. To the deepest parts of her that begged to be heard. "Go on and ride my dick," he rasped, his fingers pressing against her sex on either side of his cock. "You're fucking dripping."

"I'm not..."

"You _are_ ," he growled against her hair. "I can feel it. All over my hand…" His hand shifted down to her thigh, spreading her own juices over her trembling flesh. "Down your legs. Fuck, you're soaked."

' _Oh god, I really am! It's his voice though… Talk to me more…'_

"Shut up," Lucy moaned, her hips still shifting, grinding against him as her cheeks burned with embarrassment.

"Later, I'm putting you in front of that mirror," he rasped. "I'll make you watch me finger you, watch me _fuck_ you, and you won't get to look away."

Lucy moaned more loudly than before, and his hands slid over her stomach to tease her breasts.

"You can… _mm_ … watch the faces you make." He marveled at how he could nearly feel the heated shame washing through her soul at just the thought of what he was saying. "See that look in your eyes when you're screaming my name."

"Oh god," she whimpered. "Erik, please…" Her sex tightened around him and her hands found their way to his hips as she tried to encourage him to take over, to fuck her harder than she could manage on her own.

"Fuck, just thinking about it is gonna make me cum," Cobra snarled. "I want you to watch it. Watch how I fuck your wet little cunt."

"Erik…"

"See how soaked you get, how your tits bounce just fucking right!" He groaned and grabbed at her chest, pulling her onto him more forcefully. "I want you to see yourself cum, Belle," he hissed. "Maybe I'll… _fuck_ … spread you open and… _oh fuck_ … m-make you watch how tight you get when… _Fuck_!"

Lucy's eyes went wide when his arms barred around her body so tightly she could barely breathe. Cobra pulled her closer, his hips snapping relentlessly as his teeth locked onto her shoulder and broke the skin. But she was past caring about a little bit of pain when her release was barreling toward her. When he was forcing her closer to it with each rough thrust.

"Fucking take it," he snarled, biting her again.

Lucy couldn't stop the scream that ripped itself from her lips and echoed in the room as she broke apart around him. And still, he didn't stop. Even as she screamed his name and spasmed around him, even when her legs shook so intensely that the only thing keeping her standing were his arms around her, Cobra didn't slow down.

" _Ngh_ , that's right. Take it all, Belle…"

Her oversensitive body shuddered against him, and her weakened slaps at his arms did nothing to slow him down. But she could feel how close he was. How frantic and desperate he'd become for his own bliss. Between one moment and the next, he was spearing into her a final time, twitching inside of her while spilling his seed, holding her tightly and moaning against her bloody shoulder.

"Fuck," Cobra panted. "Y-Your… fuck… love… so much…"

Lucy's eyes rounded and her head slowly turned toward him to find his bloody lips pressing tender, trembling kisses up toward her throat. His eye was still closed, and sweat beaded his brow while his strangling hold on her lessened.

"God, I needed that," he sighed.

"What'd you say?" she asked just before he claimed her lips in a gentle kiss. It was a whole lot more tender than normal when he'd been like that during sex. But what he'd said wouldn't get out of her head. Or, what she'd thought he was saying. Maybe it was something else. Maybe he wasn't trying to say he loved her. Because the last thing Lucy wanted was to not be able to say it back.

And right then, she couldn't. She wouldn't lie to him and tell him that she felt the same way. It was too soon for talking about love. Way too fucking soon. She'd only been part of the guild for three months. She and Cobra had really only been official for a little under that. Way too fucking soon for the L-word to come out.

Cobra drew back with a frown and looked into her wide eyes, then chuckled softly. "Your soul," he said, now that his breathing was a little more normal. "I love hearing your soul."

"Oh thank God…"

"Asshole," he laughed. He hummed when she kissed him and slowly slid off his softened member to turn in his arms. Her fingers were gentle as they slithered up his stomach and clasped behind his neck. "What if I'd been saying that instead?"

Lucy sighed as his forehead rested against hers. "I would have told you the truth," she said. "It's too soon to think about that, and I don't feel that way yet."

"Yet?" he asked. That definitely had his full attention. It had a very large part of him ready to fix his soggy ass clothes, torn shirt be damned, and jump out the fucking window. But then he looked at her and her soul whispered through the air, and he understood it.

She was scared to feel that way about him. About anyone. Lucy's fear of being left behind kept her from letting herself open up more. No matter how open a book he thought she was with everyone, there were still bits and pieces of her under lock and key. He could dredge them up if he really tried, but he didn't want to. Cobra wanted to find out about those things on Lucy's time. When she was ready for it. He knew it was nothing horrible, nothing that would make him want to kill her, but he just wanted to give her the chance to tell him when she was ready.

"Can I tell you something?" He chewed at his cheek when her brow furrowed and she nodded slowly. "I feel the same."

"What?"

"Scared," he said, forcing his gaze to stay locked on hers instead of drifting to the wall behind her like his brain was screaming to do. "I've never… felt that way. About anyone. I don't, um…" He really did look away from her then. "I don't know how."

Lucy's soft smile burned itself into his memory when she moved closer to kiss his flushed cheek. "It's not hard," she said. "We'll deal with it when we get there."

He wanted to tell her it wasn't as simple as that. That he didn't know if he'd ever feel that way about her. He didn't know if he even _could_ love someone. He didn't know if he'd even realize that was how he felt when the time came. What if he couldn't tell that he loved her? What if he really did feel that way some day, but he just hadn't a clue that was _it_? Because there was a very big difference, in his mind, between the feelings he'd had for Cubellios and something romantic. There was a difference between seeing that beautiful purple snake (who'd come to be a purple-haired woman) as the only being in existence who cared about him, and what he might feel for a woman he'd want to spend his life with.

He was lost in thought when she pulled away and removed her boots, then turned on the shower to almost its hottest setting. And when Lucy came back to him and peeled his clothing away, dropping everything in a sopping pile on the floor, he barely even registered she was there.

It wasn't until they were beneath the water and her soapy hands were lathering shampoo in his hair, with her breasts brushing against his chest and her lips pressing soft kisses along his throat, that Cobra realized he wasn't even standing against the wall.

"You're fun to pamper," she giggled. His lips lifted only slightly while she tipped his head back to rinse his hair. "And the noises you make are kinda precious."

"Fuck off," he snorted. "I don't make precious…" His head whipped forward, flinging soapy water at the suddenly laughing blonde, when her memory of only a few seconds prior replayed for him to hear. His soft hums and sighs, and even an occasional purr, and the slap-happy grin on his face when she kissed the scar on his cheek. "Oh, fuck you…"

"Been there, done that," she teased. "I'm gonna need a minute to make sure my legs work properly before you make them go all jelly-tastic on me again."

"Bed," he said while leaning back to finish rinsing his hair. "I would _love_ to fuck you in a bed for a change."

"Bed sounds good."

"Sounds fucking fabulous," he said. "I don't even remember the last time I slept in a proper bed." He definitely didn't count the bullshit that had been on that ship. It was like he'd been sleeping on a damn rock for a week, and he knew for a fact that Lucy felt the same way. Aside from hearing her mentally counting the days until they were on shore so they could get out of that room, there was also her internal complaining about how much her back was hurting from the poor attempt at a mattress being too firm.

"Too long, I'd say." The last time she'd slept in a real bed had been her own back in Magnolia. The wall of her apartment had been shredded and there was debris covering most of her living room, but Lucy had simply put some plastic over it and laid in her bed at the time. She'd wanted something that was normal, and her bed was it.

But that was all gone now. Her bed and furniture. Her apartment. That old desk she'd bought at a consignment shop where she'd kept her manuscript - both of which had been irreparably damaged. Her favorite blanket and the boxes of letters to her mother were trashed.

But she was moving on with her life, and that was the important thing.

She sighed while Cobra gently scrubbed her arms with a soapy washcloth, then found herself laughing at the sight of his lips closing around her bubble-covered fingers. "Really?"

"Poison," he chuckled, nipping at her fingertips. His tongue slithered down to curl around the engagement ring she still wore. "Tastes better when I lick it off of you."

"Absolutely ridiculous." Still her hand curved around his cheek, and she watched as he gently kissed her palm. Cobra flipped her hand over, and she knew just what he was looking at when his thumb swiped away the bubbles covering the bright pink mark on the back of her hand.

"I heard Jellal talked to you," he said.

"He did."

"And you don't have a guild mark yet."

"I don't," she nodded. She was honestly surprised that it had taken this long for Cobra to bring up the fact that she still had a Fairy Tail mark on her hand.

"Do you want my opinion on it?" She nodded again. "Don't get one. Don't brand yourself like the rest of us…"

"Erik…"

"No, I know you've been thinking that I might think you're not getting one because you plan on leaving," he sighed. "I'll admit, it crossed my mind. But I know better than that. And I know that you still have this old one because they were your family and all that shit."

"Well, it's not so simple," she muttered.

"But you don't have to brand yourself as a fucking criminal just to be with me," he said. "I don't want you to think you have to do that. Jellal keeps thanking his fucking stars that you haven't asked him to give you one, because he feels guilty. He never thought about the fact that someone who wasn't like us would want to join the guild."

"An oversight on his part," she smirked.

"Definitely," he chuckled. "But… in case you were wondering… I don't think you need it to be part of the guild. You can still be a Fairy, and that won't change a thing while you're with us. And if you ever decide to go back…"

"I won't," she said with a frown. "Fairy Tail is gone, Erik."

He sighed and kissed her forehead, then wrapped his arms around her to pull her further under the warm spray of the shower. "If you do decide to go back one day, or join some other legal guild, I'm not gonna stop you. I'll be pissed, maybe kill some animals over it, but… I won't stop you from leaving, if that's what you want."

"I'm not going anywhere," she said. "This is my guild now."

He nodded and simply held her there, but that was fine. He'd really just wanted to get his opinion on the matter out there for her, because the last thing Cobra wanted was for Lucy to think she had to stay with Crime Sorciere because of him. They may not have been in love, and the fiancée jokes had all pretty much subsided by that point, but he had to know that she knew there was still a chance for her to live a regular life. Away from him.

She could go back and still be part of society in Fiore. She could do anything she wanted there. If she stayed with him, and with Crime Sorciere, there was no telling what would happen. The monarchy might decide that she really was a criminal if they found out that she was with them, and then her life would be over. She would be stuck running from Rune Knights forever.

He didn't want that for Lucy. She'd never done a thing to deserve the life he and the others had no choice but to live.

* * *

 **Update: I had an old note on this chapter that said the second part would come out on Day 8 of CoLu Week. That was incorrect, since I wrote something different for that prompt. The next (maybe final?) chapter will be posted sometime next week.**


	7. 2017 - Sick and Twisted, Part 2

**A/N: Welcome back, everyone! This was going to be my entry for Day 8 of CoLu Week, but then I was inspired to write something else. So... there's that! I made you guys wait a week for this continuation, and I think that's long enough.**

 **I'm not sure if there will be any continuations on this story after this point. With the Fairy Tail fandom slowly trickling over to BNHA, who knows if there will be a CoLu Week in 2018? I hope there is.** **Based on the fact that Fairy Tail is finally done, I might do something more with this. Maybe an epilogue? A bonus chapter? Who knows… It may just be done with the 2017 chapters.**

* * *

 _ **2017 - Hollow, Part 2**_

 _ **Sick and Twisted**_

* * *

While Lucy was more than happy that Caelum hadn't outlawed magic, she hated that they were some of the very few mages in the country. For some reason, magic had centered around Fiore, and this far south there was hardly a mage to be seen. Maybe it had something to do with the climate. Or maybe there was something that had happened in the past that had sent mages further north.

She didn't really know the specifics, but she did know that they were keeping their abilities to use magic mostly a secret. They didn't want the extra attention. She'd made sure to relay that to each of her spirits. Loke and Virgo, especially, since they just loved opening their gates at random.

So when they found a sliver of information that led them away from the capital and into a nearby city called Prestin, everyone had tried to make themselves seem a little more like normal Caelum citizens. They'd hunkered down and rode on a bus to take them thirty miles away, and she'd done her best to help Cobra get through the forty minute experience with as little discomfort as possible.

But their sliver of information hadn't ended so well. They were on the right track, that much they were sure of, but Crime Sorciere had come across a group of mages who were much better prepared than them. News travelled fast, apparently, because someone had tipped this lone dark guild off about the mages coming from Fiore, looking for a way to stop Zeref.

It was just their luck that the dark guild had ties to the Zeref. That was the bonus of finding them. And of Cobra's interrogation techniques that didn't involved hearing someone's soul.

And maybe he'd been just a little upset over the fact that Lucy had gotten injured.

"Tell me it's a dire circumstance," he said, glaring down at the lanky, green-haired guild leader who was tied to a table with razor wire. His voice was calm, but everyone could see the anarchy lurking in his single eye, just waiting to be unleashed. "Belle, _please_ tell me it is…"

"Cobra we don't have time for this!" Midnight shouted. He didn't take his eyes from Lucy where she laid on the ground, and didn't let up on the pressure he was applying to her bleeding thigh.

"We do," Cobra said. "She's not bleeding too fast."

"Cobra, she needs a doctor," Jellal said. He looked down to see Meredy holding Lucy's white-knuckled hand, Angel tipping a bottle of water to her trembling lips, and Midnight peeling the ripped portion of his cloak away from her leg to peer at the visibly torn muscle just above her knee. "We need to go."

Cobra's hand wrapped around the man's throat and he leaned closer until their breath mingled. "I'll get it all out of you," he hissed. "Once I get the green light, your ass will be singing in no time."

"Pussy," the man chuckled. "What, that bitch has your balls in a vice? You're not _allowed_ to do what you want, huh? I bet she's-" His grey eyes were wide when Cobra nearly collapsed his windpipe with a single squeeze.

"Belle," he said slowly. "I know it hurts, but tell me-"

"It's dire," Lucy ground out. "Maiming and cannibalism is p-perfectly fine right now. Shit… but make it quick, okay?"

Cobra's manic smile was slow to spread as he stroked the man's pock-marked cheek. "Green light," he crooned. "This is gonna be so much _fun…_ "

Lucy may have given him the go-ahead to do what he wanted in front of her, but she still turned away when she saw Cobra's hands and arms shift until they were covered in scales. She could hear him crawl on top of the table though, the guild leader's pained grunts quickly morphing into horrified screams.

"I'll just peel this back," Cobra chuckled. "You might not have much meat on your bones, but…" The man screamed again when one scaly hand ripped through the muscles over his stomach and barreled its way up to his lung. "Now don't get too loud. Rest your voice…"

"S-Stop! Help me!"

"Aw, hush hush."

"Somebody help!"

Cobra leaned so close, he was nearly lying on top of the man. His claws dug into the man's lung, and he grinned even wider at the sudden crackle he could hear in the ragged, putrid breaths puffing out across his face. "Now, tell me everything you know," he growled. "Don't leave a thing out, and maybe I'll let you live."

Except the man couldn't talk, and he was desperate as he choked on air and blood and struggled to breathe out a response. Cobra listened as his soul opened up, his eye closing while he focused on the memories pouring through his head.

 _Alvarez. Emperor Spriggan. Something to do with Zeref. Head to Alakitasia. Spriggan 12. Too powerful. A vast army._

His eye opened again and he looked over at Lucy. He didn't stop smiling, even when he saw how pale and shaky she was. Her soul told him that she was fine though. She was in pain and more than willing to just chop her leg off, but she wasn't losing too much blood.

"Now, there's one more thing you need to do," Cobra hissed. He pulled his hand out of the man's torso and forced his head to turn toward Lucy. "See the beautiful blonde over there? You hurt her."

"Cobra, you got what you needed," Jellal said. "That's far enough."

"Look at me, Belle." He waited until her head turned back toward him, and rubbed his cheek against the shuddering man's face. "Now, asshole, you tell my fiancée you're _extremely_ sorry for hurting her. And that you're sorry we're going to have to take her to a hospital to get her fixed up. You apologize right fucking now, and I'll let you live."

"I-I… sor…"

Cobra snickered and turned back toward him. "Almost. It's not heartfelt enough. Maybe I shouldn't have collapsed your lung… Oh well, I guess I can't let it slide."

"Cobra," Lucy said softly. His head tilted enough so she knew he was paying attention to her while he licked the bloody handprint on the man's cheek. "Are you about to eat him?"

"Maybe."

Her lips pursed and she looked down at Midnight's crimson hands where they pressed into her leg. "Brush your teeth before you kiss me," she said. Her eyes closed when Cobra started laughing. Cackling, really. She simply turned away from it as best as she could and let her focus rest solely on Meredy's fingers brushing the hair from her face.

She ignored the almost erotic groans coming from the Poison Slayer in favor of keeping her breathing even. She ignored the loud slurping that accompanied bloodcurdling screams, and instead looked up at Jellal when he knelt beside her. "Racer's okay?"

"Just sprained his wrist," he said, cringing when the man's intestines sloshed onto the floor and Cobra buried his face in the mostly empty cavity beneath the man's ribs. "Lucy, why would you tell him this is alright?"

"Have you seen my leg?"

"It's pretty bad," Midnight said. "And Cobra hasn't killed anything in awhile."

"Still," Jellal said. "Maybe this could have been avoided."

"Maybe," she said. "But a happy Cobra is a sane Cobra."

"Sane-ish," Midnight chuckled. Lucy turned a tired smile toward him and he gave her a playful wink.

Thankfully, she didn't have to wait too long for Cobra to finish venting his frustration on the guild leader. Once he was finished and making his way over to Lucy and the others, Midnight took the cloak and tied it around her leg as a tourniquet. Cobra carefully lifted her from the ground and carried her out of the warehouse.

The only time he was able to ignore his motion sickness was while they climbed into a taxi and got a ride to the hospital. Because making sure Lucy was alright was a whole lot more important than curling up in a ball and trying not to vomit. He stayed by her side through the wait in the emergency room, held her in his arms and did his best to keep the blood around his mouth and dripping down his chin from smearing over her cheek and forehead.

"Lucy Heartfilia," a short nurse with bright orange hair said, holding onto an empty wheelchair as she looked toward the battered group taking up a large corner of the emergency room.

Cobra stood with her still in his arms and met the woman near the nurse's station, then gently set her down in the wheelchair. "She'd better be on her way into surgery," he said.

"Yes, sir," she replied. "But no one is allowed in with her, so…"

"What the fuck do you mean, I can't go with her?!"

The nurse drew back a step and Lucy placed her hand on Cobra's arm before he could move. "That's hospital policy, sir."

"Get me the goddamn doctor," he sneered. "I'm going in with my fiancée to make sure you morons don't fuck anything up and kill her on the fucking table!"

Angel rolled her eyes and came to stand between him and the nurse before the woman rushed off to call the surgeon. "Cobra, you're drawing a lot of attention, and Lucy needs to get in there for surgery."

"I'm going with her," he spat.

"You can't," she said. "They'll take care of her, okay? Just let them do their jobs."

"Fuck that! I'm not leaving her fucking side, and…" He paused and turned toward the swinging doors off to his right just before a tall woman in a white coat came striding out. "You. You'll be operating on her."

"I will, sir," she said with a ghost of a smile on her thin lips. "But I must ask you to stop terrorizing the staff and let us treat your wife."

Cobra didn't even bother correcting her at that point. He just wanted to be with Lucy, to make sure she was alright. Because he knew for a fact that her letting him go a little crazy had meant she had to wait to get treatment, and he knew that she was in more pain right then than she'd been in while he was interrogating the guild leader. But he just wanted to know that nothing would happen to her. He had to be there.

"You can treat her with me there," he spat. "I'm not letting her out of my sight."

"Cobra," Angel groaned. "Seriously, relax. They're going to take care of her as soon as you get out of the way!"

The doctor came closer and tried to put a hand on his arm, only for Lucy to smack it away. When she gaped at the injured blonde, Lucy gave her a sheepish smile. "He doesn't like people touching him," she said.

"Ma'am, it's unethical for me to refuse to treat you, especially when you're bleeding like this and very clearly in need of care. But I can't, in good conscience, allow him into the operating room. Especially when he's covered in…" The doctor paused and gazed at the blood around Cobra's mouth and nose, dripping down his throat and onto his shirt, then to his crimson-coated hands. "Is that your blood?"

"Does it fucking matter?" he snarled. "I've never hit a woman before, but you're making me want to change my fucking mind, you uptight cunt."

"Erik!" Lucy shouted. She grabbed his arm just above the scar around his wrist and dragged him down until he was eye-level. "Look at me."

He couldn't. Cobra was still worked up over the fact that Lucy had gotten hurt. Killing that bastard hadn't been nearly enough. But the hospital was full of people who were already on the verge of dying. He could kill them.

"Look at me."

He could kill all of them. Every last one. As long as he got Lucy out, he could cover the entire building in a cloud of poison, then just go from room to room, maiming them, dissecting them, pulling them all apart. It would save so much money instead of having to keep all these sick motherfuckers alive. Like the pedophile on the fourth floor in a coma. He could _definitely_ use a good beheading.

"At least listen to me," she said as his breath grew ragged. "Erik…"

"... What?"

"I promise you, I'll be fine," she said softly. It took a little more force than normal to turn him toward her, to make him look into her eyes instead of at the doctor. "I'm in a lot of pain, and I really do need to get into surgery. Can you please just let them do what they need to? You can get cleaned up, and when you're done and they'll let you into my room, you can see for yourself that I'm okay."

"I don't want you going in alone."

She smiled and brought his forehead to hers. The fact that his blood-covered nose brushed against hers wasn't lost on her, but she was giving him a pass for the time being. It was disgusting, but Lucy was much more concerned with keeping him from killing more people. "Dire circumstance is over. Listen to the doctor, okay? You tell me if she's qualified. If not, we'll find someone who is. But if she knows what she's doing, then you have to give her the best chance to help me. And that means not wasting time arguing."

Cobra let out a long breath through his nose and glared at the doctor. But he listened in on her soul, specifically searching for her track record with surgeries.

And damnit, she was the best out there.

"... Fine," he said. "She's good."

Lucy laughed quietly at the pouting tone in his voice. "Good. I'll get all fixed up, and you go change. And brush your teeth so I can kiss you when I wake up."

"You let me know if something's wrong," he said, looking back at her. "I'll hear it. Call for me, and I'll come running." She nodded then turned away when he tried to kiss her. Instead, he kissed her cheek, leaving bloody lip-marks in his wake.

"Take Midnight with you, okay?" she said. "Jellal can wait here with the others and keep you posted."

Cobra sighed and nodded, then stood to his full height to look at the doctor. His lips parted in a sneer.

"No threatening her with any form of death or dismemberment," Lucy said with a frown. "Now, go." His shoulders slumped slightly. "Shoo-shoo."

"You're such a fucking asshole," he muttered, turning his back on her. She smiled while watching him walk toward the exit with Midnight just behind him, and when he looked at her over his shoulder, her smile widened.

" _I'll be fine,"_ her soul sighed. _"Hurry back. I miss you already."_

That at least had him smiling as he walked out of the hospital and down the street toward their hotel.

"Mrs. Heartfilia," the doctor said slowly. "Your husband is…"

"A total sweetheart," Lucy sighed. She looked up at the woman when she heard a small choking sound. "Sorry about that. He doesn't handle being freaked out very well."

"I-I can see that." The doctor started pushing the wheelchair just as Racer's name was called for him to be seen by another physician for his sprained wrist. As they moved toward the operating room, she glanced down at the blonde for a moment. "Thank you for calming him down," she said. "And for getting him to leave."

"I figured he was probably scaring people."

"That's an understatement. May I ask-"

"It's better if you don't," Lucy said. "But as far as my own injury is concerned, I was fighting against a mage and he hit me with a sword made out of shadows or something. There's no poison in it though. Erik checked."

"You're mages, then," the doctor said.

"Is that a problem?" Lucy asked carefully.

"No," she chuckled. "It's just that mages are rare in Caelum. But it's better to know that I'm operating on a mage, so I can be more careful while working near magical containers."

Lucy nodded and let herself get moved one way and another from the wheelchair onto an operating table. She did as she was told and counted back from one hundred when the anesthesiologist instructed her to, and closed her eyes in a blink, only to wake up in another room, all alone, with the only light coming from the machines monitoring her.

" _I will murder someone, I swear to fucking god!"_

Lucy let out a short huff of laughter when she heard Cobra's voice through the heavy door. She had to try to get her bearings and find the call button on the bed to call the nurse. Her hands didn't want to work with her, but she knew from experience that the anesthesia from her surgery had left her a bit out of sorts.

She looked down toward her leg and simply blinked at the sight of her leg lifted on a harness and wrapped in what looked like ten pounds of gauze from the middle of her thigh down past her knee.

" _I just washed the fucking blood off of me, but I'm not opposed to getting covered in more of it, goddamnit!"_

Right, she was supposed to be finding the button to call a nurse.

Lucy's hands fumbled across the bed, and she winced when the IV tube pulled just a little from getting caught on her blanket. She'd have to be careful with that. Eventually, she found the call button, and when a woman's voice drifted through the little speaker, Lucy croaked, "Can Erik please come in? He'll behave once he's here."

"I heard her. I told you she was fucking waking up, you dumb piece of shit. Now let me in!" Cobra's tinny voice bellowed through the speaker.

"Oh, thank goodness," the nurse said. "He's been like this for three hours."

Lucy laughed again when, not a moment later, the door to her room slammed open and Cobra stormed over to her bed. She didn't have time to greet him before his shaky lips were pressing against her cheeks and forehead, her chin and nose, and finally settled on her lips. His hands rested tenderly on her jaw as he kissed her again and again, just short little wisps of pressure over and over.

"I'm okay. I told you…"

"Shut up," he said softly before kissing her again. "Just rest. Fuck… And never get hurt again…"

She was careful of the IV in her arm while lifting her hand and brushing her fingers through his hair, and when she looked into his eye Lucy saw it. He was terrified. Even through the yelling and cursing and the threats she was sure he'd been slinging left and right while she was unconscious, Cobra had been scared.

"Of course I was," he said. "It took too long. Your soul was fine, but… fuck, I was so worried."

"I'm okay though," she said. "So have a seat and stick by my side now that you're not all… viscous." He didn't laugh like she'd hoped. Then again, she probably looked like shit. And she felt woozy. Maybe she'd said the punchline wrong.

"You're fine," he sighed. The rest of Crime Sorciere appeared in the doorway just behind a nurse who needed to check Lucy's vitals, but Cobra ignored all of them while he carefully curled around her, pulling her head to his chest as he leaned over the bed.

"I don't look it."

"You look beautiful. I'll take care of you, though. Anything you need, it's yours." Lucy smiled and snuggled closer to him. "As long as you're fine, I'm fine."

"No tick-tock guppies," Lucy giggled. "Not on my watch."

The nurse smiled while silently making her way into the room. She went about checking the machines and writing down Lucy's information, then glanced at Cobra. "The anesthesia could leave her a little loopy," she said softly. "She might not make sense for a bit, but that's normal."

Cobra chuckled and shook his head, pressing a gentle kiss to Lucy's golden hair. "She's making more sense than you know."

* * *

Lucy smiled down at the glowing lacrima in her hand and answered the call coming in. "Hey, Erza. How's everything going?"

"What happened?" Her face was stern, but Lucy could see the concern shining in her eyes. "Jellal told me you had to have some sort of surgery."

"I'm alright," Lucy laughed. She shifted, wincing slightly from the pain radiating through her thigh at the movement, and knew that Erza saw it. "I'll be walking again in no time. The doctor said it was a clean cut, and the surgery was easier than it had looked at first."

"You can't walk?!"

She really couldn't help but smile over it all though. And it only grew when she heard shouting in the background and saw a flash of dark blue hair and another flash of pink hair behind the Requip mage. "Just for now," Lucy said. "I'll be starting physical therapy in a couple weeks. I'm just glad that Jellal agreed to stay in Prestin for a bit so I can heal up."

"He didn't really have a choice, from what he told me," Erza chuckled. "I agree that you shouldn't be moved away from doctors who can treat you though."

"Well, I guess he really didn't. None of the others were going to leave me behind here, especially not when-"

Erza disappeared from the screen and Lucy rolled her eyes when she saw Natsu and Gray locked in a scuffle on the ground. "Boys!"

Natsu turned toward the lacrima and his frown melted in an instant when he saw Lucy's smiling face. He pushed away from Gray and dashed to the lacrima. "Luce! Where have you been? I tried to find you at the Grand Magic Games, but you weren't there! I heard some story about how you were a reporter working with Jason or something."

"No," she laughed. "I never worked with Jason."

Gray barreled into the screen, pushing Natsu out of the way. "Hey, Lucy."

"Hi, Gray," she giggled.

"Luce, what have you been up to?"

"Shut up, Fireshits."

"What'd you call me, Icefart?"

Lucy looked away from the lacrima when the door to her hotel room opened, and Cobra came in with several bags that smelled absolutely heavenly. He'd left with the others to get something for dinner, but she already knew that they were going to be having a meal in the restaurant. With her limited mobility, Lucy had said they could just bring her back a meal when they were finished. She should have known that Cobra wouldn't do that though.

Considering the sheer amount of food he was carrying, she had to assume he'd gotten both of their meals to go.

"I did," he said, giving her a small smile. "I'd rather eat with you."

"Sorry about that, Lucy," Erza chuckled. "Where were we?"

"I was telling you that no one was going to leave me behind," she said. "Especially not when-"

"Luce, where are you at? We'll come pick you up!"

She really couldn't stop herself from smiling. Maybe she would never get to explain that Cobra had said he wasn't leaving without her, which meant nobody was going anywhere because they refused to leave him all alone in that city. They didn't abandon one another. And when everyone agreed that it would be best to keep Lucy in one place so she could literally get back on her feet faster, there really hadn't been anything for Jellal to argue about.

She understood that he wanted to follow their new lead, but that would take time. From what Cobra had gathered, time was something they had a good bit of before it became serious. She still wasn't sure what _it_ was, but he'd said that everyone needed to be at their full strength.

She was just happy that the sight of her old teammates wasn't making her feel bitter or betrayed. Enough time had passed that she just didn't feel upset over what had happened anymore. It still hurt when she thought about everything that had happened with Fairy Tail, but she wasn't angry with everyone else.

She still couldn't believe it had already been a year since the last Grand Magic Games where Future Rogue had brought those dragons out. Just a few more months would mark one year since Fairy Tail disbanded, and since she'd joined Crime Sorciere.

"We're getting the guild back together," Natsu said. "We really need you, Luce. It won't be the same without you there."

"Natsu," she said with a sad smile. Cobra came over to the bed and helped Lucy sit up a little more, then put an extra pillow behind her back to keep her propped up better. "Fairy Tail has been around a whole lot longer than me, and the guild was just fine even before I joined."

"What're you talking about?" He was still grinning though, still as happy as ever. "It's loads more fun with you around, Luce."

"I'm not coming back."

"Sure you are," he laughed. "C'mon, it'll be just like before. And I'm a lot stronger now, so I know I'll make S Class this year! We can't find Gramps yet, but Erza's gonna be the guild master. And we're on our way over to the Council to get Gajeel and Levy to head back to Magnolia."

"Natsu, I'm not coming back to the guild," she said again, and that time his smile faded. He looked confused. Maybe a little angry, maybe not, but definitely confused. "I joined another guild. I'm not leaving them. Not even for the return of Fairy Tail."

"Why?"

"I love it here." Lucy's gaze shifted to watch Cobra pulling food from the bags in silence. She was sure he had a few choice words for Natsu, but at least he wasn't going right for the throat and yelling at the Fire Slayer. Most likely, because she'd already told him that she wanted to be the one to explain things to Natsu. "I love being with my guildmates. And we've done so much together. I won't just leave them behind."

"But why?" he asked. "Luce, you love Fairy Tail. It's your home. It's all of our homes. We can't just let it go."

"I'm not letting it go," she said. "The guild and everyone in it will always be a part of me, Natsu. And with people like you and Gray and Erza fighting to keep it alive, I know it'll live on for a long time. I just… can't come back. I moved on."

"What's so special about some other guild? Fairy Tail's the best one out there."

"Not a damn thing," Cobra said. She saw the sudden fire in Natsu's eyes when Cobra took a seat beside her on the bed, fully visible in the lacrima. "She just chose us over coming back to you guys."

"Cobra?!" Gray shouted in the background. "Lucy, why are you with-"

"She's a part of Fairy Tail," Natsu said slowly. "Cobra, I know you helped out with the dragons, so I know you're not a horrible guy. But-"

"Don't," Cobra said with his eye narrowed. "I can hear you from here, Salamander. That's not how it is at fucking all."

Lucy blinked in surprise and looked up at him. "Can you really?"

Cobra nodded. "Me and the others joined Jellal," he said to Natsu. "And when your guild fell apart, she found us by accident and fit right in. She's one of us now, for as long as she wants to be."

"Luce, is that true? You joined up with them?"

"Crime Sorciere isn't a bad guild," she said. "I like it here."

"Sure, it's just full of a bunch of criminals and assholes who steal people's friends."

"Natsu!" Erza shouted.

"No, if Luce wants to ditch everyone who cares about her for people like Cobra, then forget her!"

Lucy's jaw dropped when the lacrima changed hands quickly and Erza's face filled the screen once more.

"Gray, follow him. I'll meet up with you two in a bit. Just… try to get him to relax."

"Wow," Lucy whispered.

Erza let out a quiet sigh while looking back at the lacrima. "Lucy, I should apologize for Natsu. He… Well…"

"No, it's okay," she said. She understood that he was upset over the news. He probably had this grand idea in his head where they would be a team again and everything would go right back to how it was. And now that he'd found out things just weren't going to work that way… Well, Lucy knew firsthand that being upset was cause for a good bit of foot-in-the-mouth syndrome. "He'll accept it eventually, Erza."

"I was hoping to tell you without them present, so we could discuss you coming back."

"I'm not."

Erza smiled then, and it was the kind, gentle sort of smile that so few ever really saw from her. "I understand, Lucy. Just know that you're always welcome to return to Fairy Tail. Even if you're no longer a member, the guild will always be another home for you."

"Thanks, Erza. I appreciate it, but I like the home I've got now." Lucy's cheeks burned brightly when Cobra chuckled and pressed a soft kiss to her hair. "A lot."

"As long as you're happy, then you have my support." Erza paused and watched Cobra for a moment.

"I've been taking care of her," he said, slowly turning so he could see the lacrima properly. "We're about to eat dinner though."

"Ah, my apologies-"

"Nah, she can probably give you a call back after we eat though."

"And after a bath," Lucy added, scrunching her nose. "I reek."

"You smell fine," he chuckled. "Trust me, I'd tell you if you didn't."

"So sweet," she giggled. "I'm guessing that would be payback for the onion-funk comments on the ship?"

"Pretty much. I'm more than happy to give you a sponge bath though."

Erza smiled while watching Cobra's nose lightly trail over Lucy's flushed cheek, and the blonde looked back at the lacrima. "I'm in great hands," she said. "I'll call you after my bath though."

"That sounds wonderful," Erza said. "I look forward to it, Lucy."

Lucy was still smiling when the lacrima went dark after they'd said their goodbyes. She set it down on the nightstand and watched as Cobra carefully adjusted the pillow beneath her leg. "You don't have to do that, y'know."

"I know," he said, smirking at her over his shoulder. "I want to though."

She really didn't get him sometimes, not that she was complaining over being pampered. It was just one more thing that she was learning about the Poison Slayer the longer they were together. When they'd first met, Lucy never would have guessed that he could be so sweet and attentive. Even when she'd first joined Crime Sorciere, she'd assumed that Cobra was just another asshole.

He'd proven her wrong about that, just by being himself around her. It was still so strange to see the differences between when it was just the two of them, lying in bed or in the privacy of their tent while they'd been travelling, and how he acted around everyone else. He never treated her differently, but he was just a little more reserved when they weren't alone.

She didn't fault him for that though. Not everyone was a fan of public displays of affection. And she did still get the occasional kiss on the cheek when they were with the others.

"Just for you." His fingers carded through her hair and slid along her jaw where he knelt on the bed just beside her. "Something about you, Belle. I want to do shit for you. Especially now, when you got hurt because-"

"I hope you're not going to say because you didn't keep me safe." Her eyes narrowed when his mouth snapped shut and he looked off to one side. "Erik…"

"I know," he sighed.

"I don't need you thinking I can't take care of myself while we're working," she said.

"I know."

"And if I get hurt, even if it scares the hell out of you, you have to trust that I'll be okay."

"I know…"

"I spent a long time in Fairy Tail with people who wanted to help me, and I do appreciate what they did, but I can't ever hope to get stronger if everyone holds my hand all the time, and no one lets me fuck up every once in a while."

"... I know…"

"So even though it sucks that I got as hurt as I did, it has nothing to do with you not protecting me," she said, hooking a finger under his chin and forcing him to look at her. He didn't say a word then, but she could see it in his gaze. He still felt guilty that she'd been hurt at all, especially because of how bad the injury had been. "The upside is that my knee got fixed while they were in there, so when I'm walking again I'll be better than before."

"..."

Lucy sighed as he slowly moved forward and curled himself against her side, with his head resting on her shoulder. "I'm not mad at you."

"... I know."

"Can you say anything else?" she asked, smiling while kissing the top of his head.

"... Sorry." His arm slid over her stomach and he let out a slow, quiet breath when she started toying with his hair. "If I'm doing too much, just tell me," he said. "I've never done shit like this. And you know that I'm bad about obsessing over shit."

"I can do that," she said. "I just don't want you to think you _have_ to do anything like this for me. You're not my nurse or anything."

"No, but it's what normal people do," he countered. "They take care of each other when they're hurt. And you've taken care of me a couple times now."

Oh, she remembered the times when she'd had to take care of him. The trip from Fiore to Caelum was definitely the first to pop into her head. He'd been so pathetically incapable of moving for the week they'd been sailing that she'd had to feed him bits of bread, help him get to the bathroom when he needed it, and get him cleaned up from sweating all the time while trying not to puke all over their room. Lucy had spent the entirety of their trip lying with him, rubbing his stomach or back to help him feel better. At one point, she'd brushed his teeth to get rid of the smell of his vomit on his breath while he was sleeping.

The only other time had been that night in the woods when he'd had - what they came to find out after the fact - a panic attack from thinking about the Tower of Heaven. It hadn't happened in so long that Cobra hadn't really remembered what it was like, and it hadn't happened since that night either. But she'd stayed with him, held him and helped him sleep through the night. And when it was nearly two in the morning and he woke up panting and pushing himself to the far corner of the tent, she'd been there to help him relax again. She hadn't forced him to give her any answers at the time, because all she'd wanted was to help him relax, to help him realize that whatever he was scared of in that moment was nowhere near him, that he was safe with her.

"Exactly," he said. "I just want to take care of you. I'm out of my fucking element here."

"Well, you're doing a great job so far." Lucy gently squeezed his shoulders, then smiled when his stomach growled. "Time for dinner."

"Then a sponge bath."

"For my grimy underboob sweat. Seriously, you might not think I smell, but I feel like a grubby bitch."

Cobra chuckled quietly as he sat up. He went to the nearby table to grab their food and set everything up on the bed, then handed Lucy her single container of the seven that were laid out. "None of this is deadly, if you're hungry for more after that."

Lucy's eyes lit up when she opened the container and found chicken wings covered in honey barbecue sauce, celery sticks, and onion rings. And when she looked over to see what he was eating, she found an identical box with teriyaki sauce on the wings instead. "Are they all the same?"

"There's fried pickles, fried mushrooms, that big one is a salad with a bunch of bullshit on it, some more onion rings, and a stupidly large reuben sandwich with more bullshit on it," he said, pointing to each of the containers. "There's also a cheesecake in the fridge because someone is a fucking sugar addict, and I know you haven't had candy since before you were in the hospital."

Lucy blinked repeatedly, looking from the food to Cobra, then over to the kitchenette, and back to Cobra. Back to the food. Cobra again. "Seriously," she said. "Will you just marry me already?"

He laughed and picked up the remote for the television in their room. It didn't take long to find a movie they could both enjoy - he was so fucking happy that Lucy loved horror movies as much as he did - and once their entertainment was situated he grabbed a chicken wing and turned toward her, his lips parted and ready with something to say.

Except when he saw her, he just couldn't say a damn thing. Because just when he'd been ready to speak, she pushed an entire chicken wing into her mouth and sucked all the meat off. She slowly pulled the bones out and dropped them into the container, and he watched her puffed out cheeks shift while she chewed.

Lucy glanced away from the movie to find him staring at her, slack-jawed. "What?" she mumbled around her food. "Ish good…"

"Remind me to cover my dick in barbecue sauce for you," he muttered. She laughed and swallowed her food, and he couldn't stop himself from leaning over and pressing a gentle kiss to her lips. How was he supposed to deal with the fact that Lucy didn't eat like a prim and proper lady? At least, not when there were wings involved, apparently.

"I'll just bite it off. I know you can hear how much I love me some barbecue."

He chuckled and sucked on her lower lip before pulling away to eat his own food. Like a normal human being, and not by sucking on the whole goddamn wing. They continued eating and watching the splatterpunk gorefest on the television, with blood being slung haphazardly in every direction, sometimes for no fucking reason. But she enjoyed it - the movie and the food - and when Lucy reached into his container for a chicken wing, switching it out with one of hers because she wanted to taste what he'd gotten, he found himself smiling.

Had she been anyone else, he would have smacked her hand away. Or bitten her. Maybe both. But that just didn't happen with Lucy.

The fact that she was able to somehow put away all the food that had been in her container, as well as half of the fried pickles, two bites of the reuben, and picking out the black olives in the salad, had him wondering just where the fuck she put it all. And why he'd never seen her eat like that before. Then again, he'd also found out that Lucy hated mushrooms and she adored black olives, which worked out for him because he didn't like olives and probably ate more mushrooms than was healthy when they were available.

And somehow, she still had room for dessert.

"If you eat another slice of cheesecake, I'll totally fucking marry you," he chuckled when she finished her first piece.

"Better get your suit ready, sugartits," she teased. "Half of this bitch is mine."

She didn't lie, either. Cobra watched, enthralled, as she ate half of the cheesecake right along with him. She hadn't been serious about marrying him just yet, but the fact that she was just so fucking comfortable around him was mind-boggling. "Now that you've gained ten pounds, are you ready for that bath?"

She sighed while leaning back against the pillows, using a little towelette to wipe off her face and hands. "I'm gonna go with yes. And if I could help you clean up-"

"I know," he chuckled. "You'd already be doing it. You're fine." Cobra pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek and set about cleaning everything up from their dinner, then went to the bathroom to get everything ready for her.

By the time Cobra walked back into the room, he found Lucy already naked on the bed, braiding her hair while - which meant she wasn't planning on getting her hair wet - she watched some other movie that had come on. Granted, it wasn't all that difficult to get sweatshorts and a tank top off, but the fact that she was just there, perfectly comfortable in her own skin, had him wishing she'd given him the go ahead for sex.

"As long as you don't get crazy and move me around too much," she said while twisting an elastic band around the braid, "Then we can definitely have sex. After I get a bath."

"Who's the fucking mind reader here?" he laughed.

"Not you." She smirked when he was standing beside the bed, reaching down and looping his arms beneath hers to help her stand and balance. "You hear souls. It's completely different."

"Well, tou-fucking-ché," he said, smiling down at her suddenly pained expression. They took a couple slow steps with her mostly leaning on him for support before she just couldn't take the pain and allowed him to carry her the rest of the way.

He really didn't mind it though. Cobra found that he kind of liked being the one Lucy depended on to help her. He liked that she trusted him enough to be responsible, to make sure she did the few things she was actually _allowed_ to do. She was more relaxed than usual, because she trusted him to be there for her. And he was. Not a damn thing was going to stop him from being right there with her, every step of the way, while she healed and got herself back on her feet.

He was just glad that he remembered to put a plastic bag over her leg before he started washing her, to keep the sutures dry. Oh, how he couldn't wait until she was clean and lying on their bed again, spread out and moaning while he buried his face between her legs. Regardless of what she said, he wanted to make sure she could actually handle even getting off before he tried to get inside her. The last thing he wanted was to be on the verge of cumming when she had to stop him because her leg hurt too much.

"You could get naked with me in here," Lucy said once she was settled on a stool inside the bathtub. "Make me all horny while you scrub me."

He really didn't need to be told twice. As soon as he knew she was set, Cobra stripped down and climbed into the tub with her. While washing her hands and arms, his lips trailed over her throat and chest. Cleaning her breasts was much more erotic than anything they'd done before. By the time he'd reached her hips with the washcloth, he was well on his way to lapping at her dripping sex. And Lucy was more than encouraging if her hands gripping his hair and urging him to hurry up was anything to go by.

* * *

Lucy didn't cry when he did it. Nearly twelve months was long enough, in her opinion. She just watched it happen and didn't say a word. She was silent, but smiling, and maybe that was why everyone was so quiet while they watched her. And once it was done and she felt Cobra's lips pressing against her throat from where he sat behind her, she knew there was no turning back.

"Where?" Jellal asked.

Lucy bit her lip and stared at the empty space on the back of her hand. She'd had years with that guild mark, and so much time had been spent proudly staring at it in the middle of the night. And with a single swipe of his hand, it was gone.

But she couldn't dwell on that. Because she was happy to have it gone. She was happy that Cobra's arms were around her where they sat on their hotel bed back in Caelum's capital, and that all of Crime Sorciere was in their room, watching, waiting silently as she finally, _finally_ became an official member of their guild.

But where to put it. That was a very important question - considering there was no way to move it - and she'd been thinking about it for some time. Ever since she'd joined the guild, really. And it had been nearly twelve months in the making, but it was finally going to happen.

She knew the perfect place for it. Based on how Cobra took a deep breath and let it out slowly through his nose where it rested against her throat, he didn't seem to approve.

"Give it to Cobra," she giggled.

"What?" Jellal asked. "Lucy-"

"I mean give him the stamp," she said, her smile widening further. "Because I'm pretty sure if your hand gets anywhere near my tits, he's going to rip it off."

Midnight wilted to the floor, the delicate flower that he was. Luckily Meredy was right there, kneeling beside him and gently fanning his face and pulling out a tissue to blot at his nose without messing up his makeup.

Jellal shook his head while watching the Reflector mage for a moment, then turned back to Lucy and Cobra. "Are you sure?" he asked softly. "It's not pleasant, and the last thing I want is for you to subconsciously blame Cobra for hurting you. Because then he'll have to listen to it, and then he'll take it out on me, and I really hate feeding my food to pigeons to see if it's been poisoned."

"You do realize I've been poisoning your toothpaste for months, right?" Cobra asked.

"Wh-What?!"

He chuckled and put his hand out to take the stamp. "I haven't," he said. "But… I could. Don't forget that."

Lucy laughed with the others while Jellal handed the stamp over. She turned in Cobra's arms just a little, as much as the brace on her leg would allow, then pulled the thin strap of her shirt down her arm until her chest was nearly popping out of her top. "You know where. And why."

Cobra nodded and wiggled the stamp with his unease, gazing from her mostly bared breast to her eyes and back. "You're _sure_ ," he said softly. "You can't take it back after."

"I'm sure."

"Positive?"

"Perfectly positive, you poison prick," she giggled. That had him smiling and relaxing just a little, and that was all she wanted. This was her decision, and she knew that it was the right one. Lucy was a part of Crime Sorciere, and it was damn well time she proved that she was one of them. Different pasts aside, they were her family. Fairy Tail still had a place in her heart, but in the time she'd spent with these people who had once - no, twice - been her enemies, she'd learned how to care about them as well.

She'd grown in the time she'd been with them. She'd learned what it meant to really care for one another, regardless of their ridiculous arguments and the relentless teasing that even Lucy had taken part of. She'd found people who really weren't that different from her, and felt just a little closer to them than she had with anyone in Fairy Tail. Even though nearly everyone there had abandonment issues of some sort - those poor Dragon Slayers really did have it the worst - Lucy had still always felt just a little apart from them.

But Angel and Meredy and Midnight were the three biggest supporters she'd ever had. Once they found out she wanted to be a writer, they'd pushed her to do it. Midnight, especially. He was apparently a sucker for smutty fantasy novels. He wasn't ashamed to admit it, either. And he took every opportunity to show her how to cook with the things they hunted, because Lucy was - as everyone had come to learn the hard way - a horrible cook. She'd been more than embarrassed to admit that she'd never learned how to cook because the staff had cooked for her. But no one held it against her or teased her about it.

Through Angel, she'd found a way to grow closer to her own spirits again. Closer with Scorpio, especially. Because even though Angel had hurt her spirits in the past, she knew them. She knew that if anyone could help Lucy come to terms with what had happened to Aquarius' key, it would be the one who had been _dating_ the ornery mermaid spirit for centuries. It was still a work in progress, but she'd learned a great deal about Scorpio and the others in the last few months, and had even started working on learning how to use the Star Dress before she'd gotten hurt.

Aside from Meredy's slightly creepy obsession with the details of her relationship with Cobra, she found in the Maguilty mage a sense of kinship. They both knew how it felt to lose a mother, and Lucy loved listening to her stories about what it was like to grow up with Ultear as her surrogate mother in Grimoire Heart. And it was, of course, a great treat to tease Meredy and Midnight about them being a couple when they were so clearly into one another… if only they were able to see it.

Racer always took her on the best routes for a good run, and when she was in her Capricorn Star Dress, they would race like there was no tomorrow. She still couldn't beat him, but one day she planned to leave him in the dust. It would take longer than she'd planned, since she had to wait for the leg brace to come off, then deal with physical therapy, but she could be patient.

Hoteye's proclamations of love gave her an endless amount of time for eye-rolling and smiling, especially since she'd been able to witness his reunion with Wally over a lacrima, facilitated through Erza who had called Milliana, who then called Wally and told him to call Erza because it was really important. Then Erza had met up with him and they'd called Lucy, who had to hand the lacrime to Hoteye. The only dry eyes in their hotel room that night had been Cobra's and Angel's.

She'd learned how to read Cobra a little better, and so much more about who he really was past his sassy mouth and delicious body. He'd told her about the first person he'd ever killed, and how he'd done it because Brain forced him to - although, he'd admitted, there hadn't really been too much _forcing_ , because it was the guard who'd tortured him in the Tower. She'd been appalled to find out that man had been his father.

She'd held him through the night when he'd dreamt about his mother, the only time she'd seen tears in his eye.

When she'd asked him why he would join the guild and get a brand on his body - she still couldn't get over the fact that it was on his ass - when he was so against it, he'd told her the truth.

" _I didn't wanna be alone. It's easier to hate so much about the world when there are people around. And I've known them since we were kids. If I didn't stick with them, I would have been wandering by myself… hating everything… and eventually, I would have just hated myself. There's nothing out there for me. There's nowhere I can go to find what I want, because… back then, I didn't know what I wanted. Not past being out of prison and being free. I've got that here, sort of. Most importantly, though, it meant I could stay with the only friends I've ever had…"_

But it wasn't only her that had grown. Cobra had learned to put his trust in her when something was wrong, when she told him to take a step back before he did something stupid. It had saved Jellal a few times already, but she had to admit that the day he'd spent puking his guts out every few feet from Cobra putting questionable mushrooms in his bowl of stew _had_ been pretty funny. At least, until he'd gotten dehydrated, and Virgo popped out to take care of him.

She could say without a doubt that this was what she wanted.

Lucy wanted to be with the ones she felt were her family. And even though Fairy Tail had been her home for several years, and even though she'd felt that they were her family while with them, and she'd poured blood and sweat and tears into her time with them, things were just so different with Crime Sorciere.

They were closer. There were only eight of them, and they had to work together through everything. Even though the majority of her time in the guild had been spent just travelling, and then healing, and not fighting monsters or stopping dark guilds, Lucy figured it was for the best.

She'd had enough time to get to know everyone, to feel like they were really a family. They'd been able to learn about one another, to figure out how everyone fit, and how to make up for weaknesses.

And if they were her family, then they held a very special place in her heart. Each and every one of them.

"Majestic as fuck," Cobra chuckled. "I think I have a cavity now."

"Are you guys gonna do this," Angel sighed, "Or just stare at each other… I'm feeling kinda creeped out right now."

"Then we've succeeded," Lucy giggled. She turned and stuck her tongue out at Angel, then gazed back at Cobra. "Go on. I'm a big girl."

He let out a quiet sigh and chewed on his lip for a moment. "You're really sure," he said again, looking back at the stamp. "It'll hurt."

Lucy rolled her eyes at that. Was he really trying to talk her out of it with the prospect of pain? "Considering you accidentally poisoned me two weeks ago while you were balls deep in my ass, I think I can handle it." That had hurt like a motherfucker, in more ways than one. She'd come to find out that anal really wasn't her thing. And that if Cobra got too excited, he really did end up huffing out little poisonous breaths. Right in her face. The electric-acid-lava bullshit in her veins that night had definitely been more than unpleasant.

It was even more unpleasant when Jellal came rushing into the room to find Cobra still buried in her ass and trying to get her to stop convulsing beneath him. Luckily, Jellal had ignored their nudity and shoved some of the blanket in her mouth so she didn't bite off her tongue while Cobra got the poison out.

Meredy sighed when Midnight sat up on his elbows only for his eyes to roll back in is head. "Really?" she groaned. "That's not even the worst she's said."

"You can't take it back," Cobra said softly.

"You can hear my soul," Lucy said. "You know how I feel about it. So quit stalling, and give me what I want."

"Fuck no, you spoiled shit," he chuckled. He didn't try to stop her when her fingers closed over his around the stamp and brought it to her chest, just over her heart. He knew this was what she wanted. She'd wanted it for a long time, but now that it was really happening, Cobra just had to know that it was her own decision. That he hadn't swayed her in any way. Because the last thing he wanted was for Lucy to one day regret this choice to be part of Crime Sorciere.

He didn't want her to regret choosing this, or choosing to be with him. Because this was it. She couldn't go back once she had this mark on her.

The stamp hovered over her for the briefest of moments, and then he carefully pressed it to her flesh. "Last chance," he said.

"For fuck's sake," Midnight groaned from his place on the floor, with his head on Meredy's lap and a cloth pressed to his nose. "She wants it. Just give it to her already!"

"No kidding," Angel chuckled. "I never got cuddles when I was getting it. I mean, you're not giving her some disease, Cobra."

"Fuck all of you," he growled. "I just want to be sure."

Lucy's hand tightened around his. " _I'm_ sure," she said as he looked back at her. "That's all that matters."

Cobra nodded and took a slow breath, then pushed the stamp down and sent his magic into it to activate the spell Jellal had set on it. Lucy gasped and her eyes slammed shut while she tried to power through the pain. Magic or not, it was still a brand. Still burning into her flesh. It would become a scar in a matter of seconds, because of magic. That same magic was what coiled around the guild mark and made it impossible to remove. Not through surgery or some other spell.

He ignored the scent of tears in the air and the smell of cooking flesh. When he'd gotten his own mark, it had been outside. The smell hadn't hung around. All he could hope was that opening a window would help to get rid of it.

Eventually, he could feel the spell completing and finally pulled the stamp away to reveal a charred, reddened symbol on her breast. The skin cooled and the magic settled, and finally he blew a soft breath across her breast and watched as the blackness drifted away and dissipated in the air, leaving a dark pink guild mark for Crime Sorciere.

"How does it l-look?"

"Like it hurt like a motherfucker," Cobra said, still staring at the mark.

"It did." She took a deep, shuddering breath. "Jellal, I hate you."

"Wh-What?" Jellal asked, wide-eyed.

"Ah, she's officially one of us now," Racer snorted. "The unofficial group within Crime Sorciere who hates Jellal."

"What the hell, guys?" Jellal asked, rounding on the rest. All he found were playful grins directed toward him. Bunch of assholes. "Wait, do you really hate me?" He just couldn't tell.

Cobra dropped the stamp to the bed and lightly trailed his fingers just beneath the mark. He looked into her teary eyes and couldn't stop himself from smiling. Even just a little. She'd chosen the guild, this group of people who had tried to kill her in the past, over an easier life. She had the whole world ahead of her, but she'd taken this over it all.

She'd picked them.

Lucy hadn't gone in half-assed. She'd thought about it again and again, and she'd made her choice. It was all of them, but it was also… him.

"Lucy…" Cobra looked from her chest to her flushed, smiling face. She was so fucking happy to be one of them. "Can I tell you something?"

She nodded. She always did. She was always pushing him to tell her what was on his mind, reminding him that he didn't have to keep things to himself with her. He heard a lot of things he didn't want to, but she was good at keeping secrets. It gave him a way to vent without worrying about something coming back to bite him in the ass.

"I love you," he said softly, unaware that the playful banter of their guildmates had already died down, or that everyone was watching him with wide eyes.

Her lips parted on a gasp, but all he could see was the way her eyes sparked with joy. And even though Cobra had been worried as hell all those months ago that he wouldn't know how to love her, or how it would feel, he knew right then.

Because Lucy had chosen him over everyone else in the world. Through the good and the bad, she stuck by him and gave him a place that was calm and soothing to return to, no matter what. He was a fucking mess more often than not, and he was far from sane or normal. But Lucy never faulted him for it. She tried to understand him. Even though she just couldn't begin to understand the shit he thought about or did a lot of the time, she tried. And she listened to him when he actually felt like talking.

It had taken a while to figure it out, but he just knew that this heat in his chest was for her. It rolled in one wave after another down to the tips of his fingers and toes, then coiled back and started all over again. And when he looked at her, he could feel it. He'd felt it ever since he saw her in that hospital bed. How her smile pointing his way had his chest swelling like a corpse that had been in a lake for two weeks. He was stronger with her by his side, but Cobra hadn't a clue why he would feel that way, unless it was that he'd finally figured out how to love someone other than himself. That was the only explanation. Cobra didn't want another one. Because when her fingers sifted through his hair and grazed the tip of his ear, he heard the most beautiful song ringing in the depths of her soul, just for him.

"I love you too, Erik." He lunged for her lips and claimed them, smiling right along with her as he pushed her down onto the bed.

"Oh, okay then... we'll just leave," Angel laughed.

"Good," Lucy said against Cobra's lips.

"Get the fuck o - _Mm_ , don't think like that," Cobra groaned, attacking her plump lips and seductive tongue with his own. He didn't hear the rest of their guildmates leaving the room. All he could hear was Lucy's soul. All he could feel were her hands as they trailed over him, beneath his shirt, dipping under the hem of his pants, kneading him with equal parts desperation for the pleasure he would wrack her body with, and unadulterated joy over his confession.

He broke away and kissed his way down her throat, then slowed as he came to her guild mark. Lucy had a few scars here and there, like the one on her leg from having her muscles put back together - and subsequently having her knee replaced while she was in surgery - but this was one she'd chosen to get. It was the only one that really mattered.

This would be a part of her, forever.

"Lucy," he rasped, kissing her guild mark and looking up into her teary, sultry eyes. She was one of them, forever. "Marry me?"

If she'd have him, then Lucy would be his, forever.

 _ **.The End.**_

…

 _ **.Maybe.**_


	8. 2018 - Until the End

**A/N: Would you look at that? There's another chapter to finish out this story. It's taken three years worth of CoLu Weeks to get this thing polished and completed, and I'm so happy that you guys have stuck with it (and me). I hope you all enjoy what's to come.**

 **For any of you who have yet to read the final arc of the manga... serious spoilers ahead. This part of the story deals with the Alvarez Arc. Some of it is canon, and some of it isn't. Some will change the canon bits just a smidge. Either way, you've gotten your spoiler alert.**

* * *

 _ **2018 - Delirious**_

 ** _Until the End_**

* * *

Travelling under the sea was definitely a first for Lucy - as it was for everyone else in the guild - but she couldn't help but smile over the way Cobra curled in on himself in a corner while Angel steered this monstrosity away from Caelum. It was one of the benefits of having the sort of magic that ate at her life, Lucy supposed. Angel had been able to summon an entire freaking temple to control on a whim.

The plan wasn't something she really agreed with, though. She didn't want Angel to go into Alakitasia alone, with no backup, all so she could act as a spy. The chances were too high that she would be found out, and Lucy was sure that this emperor they were searching for would have Angel killed.

But Cobra had said it was the only way. They needed someone on the inside. There had to be a way to figure out how the Spriggan 12 and this huge army he'd learned about from that mage who'd royally fucked her leg up were connected with Zeref. That man hadn't known much, just a kernel of the whole truth. But that kernel was enough for them to pack up where they'd been in Caelum, now that she was healed and nearly back at full strength, and make their way to this new country. To enemy territory.

Lucy had asked why they were doing this. Why it was so important that Angel, of all people, be the one to go undercover. She'd surprised everyone by asking why it wasn't Cobra who was going in as a spy instead. It wasn't that she wanted _him_ put in harm's way either, but he had the added ability of being able to hear souls. It just made more sense to send him in. But she'd been the only one to see it that way.

Even Cobra hadn't thought he was the best choice to work as a spy. What it all boiled down to, though, was that he hadn't been _chosen_ as the spy. Angel had. And the one who'd done the choosing was Doranbolt. No, he was Mest Gryder, now. Lucy had been utterly shocked to find out that he'd wiped his own memories to infiltrate the Magic Council, so Master Makarov could keep tabs on Alakitasia. Fairy Tail's very own sleeper agent - that no one knew about - had come back. And now he was calling in the favor that Angel owed him for getting her out of the destroyed prison and taking her to Jellal, by having her infiltrate the Spriggans as best as she could.

Cobra had told Lucy the night before while they laid in bed that they were going in to keep an eye on Makarov, who was trying to (stupidly) negotiate with the emperor. Only Angel and Mest knew about that though. The rest of the guild was just going to lie in wait until Cobra heard anything from Angel. Yet another reason he wasn't the spy. They needed a way to contact her, and Cobra was their best bet. If anything went wrong, he could tell Mest, and she could be extracted.

Lucy turned to look at everyone again, then over to Angel. She didn't look like she was worried one bit about what was to come. She didn't seem scared of the impending war. Lucy was terrified. How could she not be?

And while she was definitely worried about Angel and her own guild, she was also worried about the mages back in Fiore who didn't know this was happening. Erza and her old team were still getting Fairy Tail back together. They had a lot of searching to do, since everyone had scattered. And Lucy's own notes from when she'd been keeping track of everyone only helped so much. They had no idea that the reason Makarov had disbanded the guild was to keep them protected from some secret that was associated with Fairy Tail.

She wasn't sure what the secret was, only that it had been serious enough to warrant ripping the guild to shreds. If it had been a year prior, she would have had some seriously venomous words for the guild master. As it stood, Lucy just wanted everyone to be safe.

Finally, she made her way over to Cobra and sat down on the floor beside him. Lucy wrapped her arms around his hunched shoulders.

"I'm fucking dying, Belle," he muttered.

"You're not dying," she giggled. His head shifted to rest on her chest, his pointed ear pressing tightly against her guild mark so he could listen to the steady rhythm of her heart. "You're not allowed."

Cobra barely chuckled as she gently rubbed his back in the hopes of soothing his stomach. "I know," he sighed. "Not until we're back in Fiore."

"Damn straight," she said.

"We should be there in fifteen minutes," Angel called out. "Racer and Meredy should go up for supplies."

"Agreed," said Jellal. He'd been pacing for hours already. "We don't know who may or may not know our faces."

"Yours, especially," Midnight yawned. "Mest says God Serena defected from Ishgar."

"Who's God Serena?" Meredy asked, frowning.

"The strongest wizard saint," Jellal said. When Lucy looked at him, he'd visibly paled. She felt the same way, after thinking for a moment. That meant that Fiore's strongest mage had turned to the other side. One of their best shots at beating the Spriggans, was now working with the enemy. "I was one the wizard saints, when I posed as Siegrain. I never saw him, but that doesn't mean he's not aware of who I am."

"It doesn't mean he knows who you are, either," Hoteye said.

"But we can't afford to take that chance," Angel said, shaking her head. "Me, Meredy and Racer are generally unknown."

"I know," Midnight sighed before anyone could say a word. "It's iffy with me."

"Cobra's reputation might precede him," Hoteye nodded. "Indeed…"

"And Lucy?" Racer asked.

"She's a former Fairy Tail mage," Mest said. Everyone turned to find him leaning against a pillar as though he'd been there the whole time. "There's no way of knowing whether or not they'll recognize her here. And with Master Makarov trying to play nice, it won't do him any favors if she's seen."

"Plus it'll keep Cobra occupied," Meredy snickered. "He's less likely to get stir crazy down here with his snuggle-buddy."

"I doubt the two of them snuggle at all," Midnight laughed. "Haven't you heard the screams?"

Mest frowned and looked at Lucy, his eyes widening slightly when he saw how she'd wrapped herself around Cobra. And how Cobra leaned into her embrace. "I feel like I've missed something," he muttered.

"Only the most beautiful couple in all of Earthland," Meredy sighed. "And they-"

"Not a fucking word, you bubblegum cum stain!" Cobra roared. He instantly regretted it a moment later when the contents of his stomach shot up into his mouth with so much force that there was no stopping what happened next. He vomited down the front of Lucy's shirt.

"Oh, gross!" Angel spat. "Cobra, control yourself!"

"F-Fuck y-" He vomited again, directly onto her lap this time. And through it all, Lucy just grimaced and closed her eyes, and pushed his hair away from his face.

"It's alright," she sighed. The smell was absolutely horrendous. It was sour and pungent, and she was positive there was poison even in his bile. That probably explained why her legs were itchy and far warmer than they should have been. They were nearly burning, even with a pair of jeans covering them. But this wasn't the first time a Dragon Slayer's motion sickness had caused her to be a human puke bucket. It _was_ the first time Cobra had thrown up on her, but she knew that he couldn't control it. And it wouldn't do anyone any good if she started freaking out over it.

No, it was best to wait for him to finish, then clean herself up afterward. As long as she could stand the itching. And was that burning she was feeling? Hopefully not.

"Pants off… Poison," Cobra groaned between bouts of dry heaving. "N-Now!" He collapsed onto the floor, holding his stomach while he tried to get his body to calm down again. Yelling was never in his best interest when his motion sickness was in full force, but it had never been this bad before.

Lucy didn't hesitate to do as he said. She didn't care that Mest or the rest of their guild was there, watching what happened. She jumped up and nearly ripped her pants in an effort to get them off as quickly as possible. Once they were down to her knees, she blanched at the sight of large red splotches all along her thighs. "What the hell is this?" she nearly screeched while yanking her boots off before her pants could get caught on them. "Are you puking acid?!"

"Tastes like… ugh…" Cobra paused to spit on the floor while Lucy kicked her pants away from her, then removed her shirt. "Urushiol."

Midnight wavered on his feet for a moment when Lucy's bare ass cheeks were facing him, then caught himself on the edge of Angel's throne-like seat. "Which is?"

"Poison ivy," Lucy sighed. Being with Cobra meant she got a constant crash course in toxic chemicals. There were certain ones that he made sure she knew not just the names of, but also how to treat exposure to them, simply because he used them more often. And with how clumsy she was on occasion, he'd taken to teaching her about ones they might come across on their travels. Like poison freaking ivy. She used the dry parts of her shirt to wipe off the moisture clinging to her skin, then tossed it to the floor. "Cobra, I love you but seriously?!"

"I can't help this shit!" The belch he let out was so fucking juicy, that Lucy felt just a little bad for him. Not much. She was covered in poisoned puke.

When he started dry heaving again, Lucy simply shook her head and stormed off toward one of the many nearby archways that still had water rushing past it without ever entering the temple. She needed to wash this off as quickly as possible. Cobra had told her that a poison ivy rash wouldn't manifest for at least 12 hours, but apparently he liked to vomit up the extra-strength kind. How thoughtful.

"Of course it is," he groaned. "Fuck I'm…" Cobra paused to spit again. "I'm so sorry…"

And Mest just stared, slack-jawed and stunned into silence at the sight of her bright pink lingerie while she held onto a pillar and jumped sideways into the water.

"I'd suggest not staring at her," Jellal said, nudging Mest in the side.

"Huh?"

"You're lucky Cobra's incapacitated right now," Angel snorted.

"Not for fucking long," Cobra growled weakly from the floor. "Eyes to yourself, shitass. That's my fucking fiancée you're staring at."

"Fiancée?!" Mest shrieked. He turned back to find Lucy stepping back into the temple, soaked from head to toe with her undergarments entirely see-through from the water. He couldn't stop himself from staring, though. Not when she rung out her hair and scrubbed her hands over her reddened stomach and thighs. He didn't even notice Midnight squeaking from somewhere to his right and hitting his head on Angel's throne while he collapsed to the floor in a twitching heap. Meredy was the only one to react with alarm to the pooling blood around the poor Reflector mage's head. The last thing Mest saw before he was tackled to the ground was the way Lucy's nipples pebbled beneath her bra.

"I said eyes to your fucking self!" Cobra roared.

And then it was all a flurry of punches and poisonous breaths from one very pissed off, nauseated Poison Dragon Slayer until Mest lost consciousness. In the background, Lucy rolled her eyes and laughed, then she summoned Virgo for a change of clothes and a bottle of calamine lotion to treat the rash that was already spreading across her stomach. She was definitely making Cobra put it on her. He'd puked all over her, so he could make her feel better.

* * *

Lucy knew that it would happen eventually, that Angel's cover would be blown open wide and that her extraction hinged on Cobra and Mest working together to get her to safety. What she hadn't known was that Mest had told the newly reformed Team Natsu that they would be meeting up with Angel in the temple beneath the water. Or that Angel was going to lead them right to Makarov and nearly get everyone killed in the process.

But Cobra had known about it - she had a few choice words for him on the matter of keeping it from her in the first place - and he'd said that it would be best if everyone stayed far away from the main room. While Team Natsu had been in the temple, Lucy had been otherwise occupied by Cobra in their bedroom. She wasn't sure how he'd powered through his motion sickness, but she'd been too far gone in rolling between the sheets with him at the time to really notice the temple was moving at all.

It wasn't until after the Fairy Tail mages were gone that he'd let her leave the bed. They bathed together, slowly because he was apparently starting to feel the effects of moving while the temple was also in motion, and finally met up with the rest of the guild. That was when it was revealed to everyone, why they'd been sent off to far ends of the temple.

The Fairy Tail mages weren't supposed to know that Angel was working with anyone else. It was all very covert, in case they were somehow compromised. If they were questioned for information, they could only name Angel - assuming they broke under the pressure - and not all of Crime Sorciere.

But now, things were different once more. Makarov had been recovered, and the Spriggan army was on the move to decimate all of Ishgar. For all Lucy knew, there were already skirmishes breaking out. Her friends from Fairy Tail might already be in the midst of countless battles with the terrifyingly strong mages working under Zeref.

They all knew what was coming. This war with Zeref was inevitable, and it was just a matter of when the other shoe would drop. Apparently, it had dropped. And even though Crime Sorciere was a guild full of former criminals and dark guild members, they were still rushing back to the country they all called home. They were still going to fight to protect it and everyone who lived there. This was what they'd been working toward, with each dark guild they'd taken down in the past year. Every tidbit of information had been extracted from their opponents to find Zeref, to find a way to stop him once and for all.

Now, all they had to do was hope the pieces of the puzzle fit together well enough to stop him.

With Angel steering Olympia toward Fiore as fast as she could through the water - it wasn't safe enough to take flight just yet, since the Alakitasian naval forces were still close enough for Cobra to detect - Lucy looked around to the rest of her guildmates.

Richard sat on a plush cushion by one pillar and meditated. He'd been doing that a lot more, recently.

Racer was stretching out his legs by doing lunges so deep that the insides of Lucy's thighs burned just from watching him.

Jellal hadn't stopped chewing on his thumb and glaring at the ground since they'd begun moving. Lucy already knew that he was worried about Erza, and trying with all his might to wish a victory into existence before they were even needed.

Midnight and Meredy were sleeping side by side against a far wall. In the past months, Meredy had been able to get Midnight on a halfway decent sleeping schedule. It had everything to do with using her magic to link the two of them together. When he started falling asleep at the wrong time, she pinched herself somewhere just hard enough for him to snap to attention. The only downside was that, when he was tired enough, he ended up falling asleep and taking her with him. Everyone but the two of them could see just how little Meredy fought that, though.

This was her life now. These were her friends, her guildmates. They were her family. Lucy knew for a fact that, regardless of the past they all shared, she would lay her life down for any of them in a heartbeat. And they would do the same for her.

With what was to come, they might not all make it. She knew that. They all knew it. That knowledge slithered through the air and wrapped itself tightly around her throat. She might not be alive much longer. And what did she have to show for it?

She hadn't realized she'd been pacing until her feet stopped moving. Slowly, Lucy turned to look at Cobra's curled up, shivering body on the floor just behind her. She had everything she wanted in life. Except for one thing. And it was all her fault that it had to be this way.

#

 _Cobra broke away from her lips and kissed down the column of her throat, then slowed as his lips met with her new guild mark just above her heart. Lucy smiled when his nose brushed across it just before he tenderly kissed the newly scarred flesh. "Lucy…"_

 _The look in his eye when their gazes met had her heart leaping up into her throat._

" _Marry me?" he whispered._

 _It took her far longer than she would have liked to formulate any sort of response to that question. Because Cobra had only just told her that he loved her for the first time, not even five minutes prior. It just wasn't normal to jump from a love confession to an actual proposal that quickly._

" _Marry you?" she asked. Oh, wasn't she an eloquent bitch? "F-For real?"_

 _Cobra nodded and propped himself up on his elbows. Those burning embers of desire that had been fanned with each brush of his lips and body against her own had been doused in an instant. Deep down, she still wanted him, and she was more than happy that he'd said those three little words to her, but she still couldn't wrap her head around the question._

" _For real," he said. "No more just saying you're my fiancée because of us going undercover that one fucking time."_

 _They really had milked that, hadn't they? She'd been the one to propose in the first place, but they both knew it was bullshit. She hadn't meant a single word of what she'd said to him at the time. She'd only said it because he wanted a heartfelt proposal. He'd been joking around with her, but Lucy hadn't really understood his sense of humor back then. Not like she did now. And still, they'd refused to take their rings off._

 _They'd refused to deny that they were actually engaged in some way. Cobra hadn't wanted to let it go. He'd grown obsessed with the idea of having her as his fiancée. Of course, Lucy knew that she could have simply told him that she didn't want to play around anymore. But she hadn't wanted that. She'd loved seeing the ring on her finger, knowing that he had one as well. She'd loved being able to look at her hand and know, without a single doubt, that she wasn't alone. Because she had him._

" _I want you to be my wife, Lucy," Cobra said. "Forever." His left hand shifted to brush her bangs away from her face. Lucy hadn't realized they'd been in her eyes until she was suddenly able to see him much more clearly. "I know you remember what I said about getting married one day."_

 _How could she not remember that? Cobra the Poison Dragon Slayer had told her that he wouldn't get married unless he was in love. "And you'd want that… with me?" she asked. "Like, f-forever?"_

 _He nodded. She knew that he could hear her soul. She wasn't questioning the truth of his words. Lucy was just really having a hard time believing those were actually the words he was saying in the first place. "I love you," he said in earnest. "I'll never stop loving you. I can feel it."_

 _She wanted to know how he could feel something like that. How could he be so sure that his feelings for her would never change?_

" _Please, Lucy," he said. "Please say you'll marry me…"_

 _It almost sounded like he was begging her, but Cobra didn't beg anyone for anything. He hadn't begged her to stay with him when she found out how every single one of his past relationships had ended. He'd been willing to let her go then. He'd even tried to push her away for her own good. But they'd gotten through it, just like everything else._

" _I want to marry you," he said, his voice a little more raw, more vulnerable. That definitely had her attention. "You don't try to control me. You help me see when I'm losing control myself."_

 _How could she not do that? He'd woken her up one night when she was still on bedrest in Caelum, going on and on about how he needed to murder the man who was one floor above them and six doors down. All because that man was reading the newspaper in character voices. Out loud. And it was driving Cobra up the wall. Lucy hadn't told him that he couldn't do it, but she'd made it very clear that if he killed the guy, then they'd have to leave the hotel and start travelling before she was really supposed to move. As soon as he realized what the consequences would be, and that it would put Lucy's recovery at risk, Cobra had relaxed. A little._

 _Instead, she'd sent him out with Midnight to go blow off some steam. He came back to the room with blood up to his elbows beneath his coat, but at least he'd had the courtesy to shower before crawling back into bed with her._

" _You love me for who and what I am," he continued. "You don't try to change me at all."_

 _They wouldn't have lasted nearly as long if Lucy had tried to change him. Luckily for her, he did know that there was a difference in what she did with stopping him from making some seriously illegal decisions (on occasion), and trying to make him stop killing people or things altogether. That was just part of who Cobra was. And Lucy, while she didn't like it, was pretty good about turning a blind eye to those less savory habits of his. Mostly. She was a big fan of finding a good compromise._

" _I've spent my whole shitty life looking out for myself," he said. "I've always looked over my shoulder for danger, and I know I'll never stop waiting for someone to stab me in the back. But if I look over my shoulder, I want to see you there. Watching out for me, too. Just like you have been."_

 _Not once did his gaze shift away from her. He wasn't ashamed of what he was saying. He wasn't even blushing or embarrassed, or anything else. He was just being completely honest with her._

" _You don't shy away from me, even looking the way I do…"_

 _Finally, Lucy smiled up at him. "Why would I?" she giggled. "You're too sexy for your own good."_

 _She knew that he still questioned just what she saw in him, when they were so different. And she knew that he especially questioned how she could bear to touch and kiss the scars all over his body when he was still ashamed of them because of what one woman had said when she'd seen the results of years of abuse._

 _Lucy could never be disgusted by how he looked. Not when she knew the truth. Not when she knew that he had them because he was a fighter, a survivor who'd come out a little worse for wear on the other side._

 _Her arms draped themselves around his shoulders when his smiling lips met with hers in a gentle caress. It took her a moment to speak though, because all she wanted to do was run her fingers over the scar on his cheek. Down the length of his nose. His perfectly kissable lips. Her free hand brushed across the scars between his shoulders, hidden by his shirt._

" _Promise me, one day, I'll get to have your children," she said._

 _The last thing she'd expected was for him to pull back and stare down at her with his smile gone and his single eye blown wide in shock. What she'd expected even less was to see tears welling in his eye the longer he stared at her. His mouth opened and closed several times, but she hadn't a clue just what he was thinking. Had she really surprised him that much by saying she wanted to have kids with him?_

 _Well, maybe it was a bit out of the blue. She hadn't really thought all that much about it until she'd said it. But once the words passed her lips, Lucy knew that it was the truth. She did want kids with him one day. Not right away. They still had so much to do, and she wasn't done living her life with nothing to hold her back. She was barely even twenty as it was. It was way too soon for her to start thinking about actually having children, but…_

 _She knew that one day, she did want them. And she wanted to have them with Cobra. Because, for all his faults, she knew that there would always be a special place in his heart for her, and for their kids. She'd seen firsthand what his version of loyalty was. It was a little on the gruesome side, but it also set her at ease knowing that he would move mountains if he had to, just for her._

 _Why wouldn't she want to raise a family with someone like him?_

" _I'll marry you, Erik," she said, watching the tears finally break free from his lashes and slowly glide down his cheek. "But if I'm gonna be your wife, then I want to be a mother, too."_

 _The breath he let out almost sounded as though one of Gajeel's metal pole-arms had connected with his chest and crushed his lungs._

" _I want to have a family of our own," Lucy said. Her brows furrowed when he didn't breathe in. "Not now, but… someday. When we talk more about it…"_

#

When Lucy looked at Cobra, she could see their future together. A future they might not have.

She could see the little cottage in the woods, far enough from civilization that he could relax and not have to worry about hearing so many souls all the time, but still close enough that they could easily go shopping. A little white picket fence. A garden in the front with poisonous flowers that she could garnish his meals with, with roses on either side of their front door. She'd always loved roses.

Lucy could so easily imagine waking up every morning and finding him by her side, feeling his arms around her and her fingers rippling over his scarred back. Rainy Sunday mornings, curled up on the couch. Hot July nights, complaining about how they would melt and their corpses would stink up three miles worth of woods before anyone found their bodies.

She could see him smiling while he chased a little girl around their home, pretending to be a monster that would bite her little butt if she didn't put her clothes back on and get back in her room for a bedtime story. And Lucy could already tell that he would say there weren't any monsters to be scared of under the bed, because he was scarier than all of them combined.

And all of that, every dream she'd had of a life full of laughter and happiness and rainbows with glittery handmade Mother's Day cards… It could all be nothing more than dream, if they didn't live through this. There was no guarantee they would win against Zeref. There was no guarantee something else wouldn't come along in the middle of the war that would further endanger the future she so desperately wanted.

Lucy wanted to marry him, and as she looked down at her poor, sweet fiancé, curled up in a little ball on the floor and trying with everything he was worth to hold down the lunch he'd eaten… she knew that there was only one thing she could do to take control of her fate.

If she died in this war, then she wanted to die as Cobra's wife. If he died, she wanted to know that he'd at least had the memory of finally marrying her, of sharing what little time they'd had together as husband and wife. Lucy hoped they survived, though, and she'd originally told him that they would wait to get married until they were back in Magnolia so Erza could be there. A part of her wondered if maybe they should have gotten married when her old team had been in the temple, but that thought was squashed when she remembered that Cobra had made sure she was otherwise occupied. Him and his stupid, sexy body.

Besides, the most important people in their lives were already with them. Midnight and Meredy were still snuggling in their sleep against a wall. Racer had started his yoga regiment and was currently in some weirdly modified downward dog position with one leg straight up in the air. Richard had finished meditating, and had moved on to sweeping… not that the floor needed sweeping, but he was (apparently) a stress-cleaner. Angel was in a conversation on her lacrima with Mest, getting an update from him on the situation in Fiore, and Jellal was hovering over her shoulder, hanging on every word, with his jaw set firmly into his "Plotting Face" (as she and Cobra called it). He was already strategizing, figuring out where they would be needed the most.

Lucy waited until Angel's lacrima darkened, then she bent down and hauled Cobra up off the floor.

"Belle, no," he whined. "Please, just let me die in peace."

"You're not dying yet," she laughed. Lucy turned toward Angel. "Angel, stop the temple."

"What?" Angel nearly screeched. "Why the hell would I do that?"

"Just stop the temple. This won't take long," she sighed. It was clear that Angel wasn't all too happy about being ordered around by the way the temple lurched. Still, Lucy was thankful that she'd at least stopped at all.

"We don't have time to stop," Jellal said. "We need to be in position before the Spriggan forces bear down on-"

"Shut up," Cobra muttered. His head lifted slowly and his eye locked with Lucy's. Everyone watched as he read her soul like an open book. He'd been too preoccupied with not puking everywhere to really listen in on her before, but now that he was… Cobra sent her a tender smile and nodded. "Sounds good to me."

"Do you have any idea how much I hate it when you two do that weird staring bullshit?" Angel sighed. "It's creepy to be a third wheel on that."

"Then maybe you should fuck off," Cobra chuckled. It took him another moment to stand up a little straighter. When he finally did, he set his full attention on Jellal. "You were a wizard saint before. And you're a guildmaster now. According to Fiore's laws, both wizard saints and guildmasters can officiate marriages, right?"

"Sure," Jellal said, frowning. "But I was stripped of my wizard saint status. And while I'm the master of this guild, it's not officially recognized by the Council. Why?"

"We're getting married," Cobra said.

"We know that," Angel snorted. "You haven't stopped talking about it since you two dressed up like Beauty and the Beast."

"No," he groaned. "I mean, we're getting married right now."

"Cobra, this really isn't the time," Jellal said, earning a glare from the Poison Slayer. "Mest and everyone else is waiting for us to-"

"We might not live to see tomorrow, Jellal," Lucy said. Her grip around Cobra's waist tightened marginally, and she relaxed just as much when his fingertips feathered across her lower back. "And if I'm going to die, then I want to at least have gotten married."

He still didn't look convinced. She knew the timing wasn't the best, but she didn't even care if it was a full ceremony. Even a simple _Do you?_ for each of them would suffice.

"My hands are tied," he finally said. The way his shoulders slumped, she was sure that he didn't actually have a problem with them getting married right then. "If I tried to officiate the wedding, it wouldn't be legal."

"I could do it," Midnight mumbled from his spot on the floor. Everyone's attention shifted to him in an instant. His head was still tipped back, and his eyes were still closed. If Lucy hadn't known any better, she would have assumed he'd been talking in his sleep. But she'd found out from experience that Midnight never talked in his sleep. He was either dead silent, or shrieking while caught in a rare night terror. "I'm a notary."

"You're a what?" Jellal asked, his voice shooting up several octaves.

Midnight's eyes finally opened, only to give Jellal a bland stare. "Brain said we needed a notary. I filled out the paperwork a long time ago, and I just keep renewing it every five years." He paused to shrug with the shoulder that Meredy wasn't currently using as a pillow. "Honestly, they don't even check the information on those forms."

Racer moved to his side when Midnight lifted his hand to show everyone a white-gold ring on his right index finger. No one had ever really taken much notice of his jewelry before. Midnight didn't wear much of it in the first place. But that ring… Racer leaned down to inspect it, then laughed so loudly it finally woke Meredy up.

"It's really a notary seal!" Racer cackled. "Oh my god, why?!"

Midnight just shrugged again. "It's useful sometimes."

"What did I miss?" Meredy mumbled while rubbing her eyes.

Midnight chuckled and looked down at her. "Cobra and Lucy are finally going to get married," he said, watching as her tired eyes suddenly brightened. "And I'll be officiating the wedding as soon as we stand up and get situated."

Between one breath and the next, Meredy was on her feet and dragging Midnight right along with her. Lucy and the others laughed when they saw the pink tint to his cheeks when he realized Meredy's fingers were laced with his. It was just a little unnerving, how quickly she moved him into position in front of Lucy and Cobra. But once he was there, Meredy let go and took several steps back so he could get started.

"Uh, alright," Midnight coughed. He looked from Cobra to Lucy, glaring when he saw the way they were smirking at him. "So, blah blah blah, true love."

"Oh come on, Midnight!" Meredy groaned. "Do it for real!"

His eyes drifted skyward and his shoulders slumped with defeat. "We're gathered here today, in the presence of a bunch of fucking criminals," he muttered.

"Former criminals," Angel corrected.

" _Former_ criminals," he said. "And now I pronounce-"

"Midnight!" Meredy yelled, stomping her foot.

He was starting to regret this. "Lucy and Cobra love each other-"

"With the burning passion of a thousand suns," Meredy sighed.

"... Sure. And we all know that Cobra's never letting her get away-"

"Because their love is one that will last for a millennia," Meredy added.

"Whatever." Midnight hated all of them for doing this to him. He looked at the couple in front of him. They were just Lucy and Cobra. Sure, Cobra's arm was still around her, and she was snuggled up to him and smiling while her head rested on his shoulder but that just normal for...

Midnight's brows furrowed when he saw the tender look in Cobra's eye. It wasn't often that he allowed anyone to see this side of himself. Everyone knew it must have been in there somewhere, considering Lucy was still with him. He had to have had some sort of loving side to him. But he never looked like this. Not where others could see.

In that moment, Midnight realized just how serious this was. For the past year, Cobra and Lucy had been making constant jokes about their engagement. At least, everyone had thought it had been all in good fun. Or maybe that Cobra wouldn't let it go, and Lucy just went along with it. But this was so much more than a joke. Cobra loved her. He really, truly loved her and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

"Of course I do, you fucking twink," Cobra chuckled.

Midnight finally smiled and scratched the back of his head while he cleared his throat. "Let's start this again," he said softly. His gaze drifted to Meredy, and he found her smiling at him with her fists tucked against her chest. Most likely to hold in her excitement. "We're here, right now, stopping in our trip to finally kill Zeref, to get these two hitched," he said.

Lucy giggled. "Sorry."

"Don't be," Cobra whispered into her hair. "Zeref can wait a few."

"I don't think that's how it works," Jellal sighed in the background.

"Anyway," Midnight said a little louder, glaring at Jellal. "I won't even pretend I'm a romantic sap who can make things up on the fly."

"Improv really has never been your strong suit," Angel snickered.

"You are a romantic, though," Racer cut in. "We all remember when you-"

"Moving on!" Midnight said even louder. He didn't need Meredy finding out about his _thoughtful poet_ phase. She'd never let him live it down… And she'd probably ask to see the horrible poetry he'd written about love. It was disgusting. "You two are in luck, because there's something I memorized a while back, and no I will _not_ explain why. Ever."

Lucy bit her lips when he shot another glare at Angel and Racer. She could only assume they knew the reason. Knowing them, whatever he'd memorized was probably done under duress when they were kids.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today in the presence of these witnesses, to join Lucy and Cobra in matrimony, which is commended to be honorable among all men; and therefore is not by any to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently, discreetly, advisedly and solemnly. Into this holy estate these two persons present now come to be joined. If any person can show just cause why they may not be joined together, let them speak now or forever hold their peace."

Midnight could swear he heard crickets chirping while everyone's jaws dropped and they gaped at him. Which was just a little disconcerting since they were still underwater. Still, he waited a moment, and when no one said a word, he nodded and continued.

"And, uh…" He cleared his throat again. "That's all I memorized of that. So… Marriage is serious business, and I really don't want to deal with what'll happen if you two split up."

"Murder," Angel said.

"Carnage," Racer added with a solemn nod.

"Rivers of blood," Hoteye said.

"Fiore turned into a wasteland," Meredy sighed.

"And that's just what Lucy will do," Jellal chuckled. When everyone turned to stare at him in shock, he frowned. "What?"

"Was that a joke just now?" Lucy asked.

"I know how to make jokes, too!" he shouted. The suddenly teasing grins they gave him had Jellal's head dropping in defeat. "Carry on, Midnight."

Midnight shook his head and turned his attention back to Lucy and Cobra. "Are you guys exchanging vows or rings or anything?"

Lucy shrugged and looked at Cobra, who shrugged right back. She snorted and said, "Well, there's no point in waxing poetic. I wanna marry him before we're all slaughtered by Zeref."

"And we're already wearing the rings," Cobra said, smirking down at her. "Let's just get this shit over with."

"Such a romantic," Lucy crooned, earning a quick poke to her side, right where he knew she was most ticklish.

"Alrighty then," Midnight said, shaking his head. "Cobra, do you take-"

"I do."

Midnight sighed and closed his eyes. "Lucy, do-"

"I do."

He quit. "Then, by the powers vested in me by Fiore's inept government system and their lack of efficient fact-checking of notary applications… I now pronounce you husband and wife. Go ahead and make out. It's not like anything's stopped you before."

He smiled when Cobra leaned down and kissed Lucy, even though the bastard also reached over and punched him right in the stomach. The rest of their guildmates cheered, with Meredy being the loudest of them all. Midnight was just going to ignore the fact that the newly married couple was in the process of feeling one another up. And that Cobra was more than likely licking her tonsils with how insistently his lips pressed against hers.

Cobra drew back and sent his blushing bride a devious grin. He bent down quickly and picked her up like a sack of potatoes, hefting her over his shoulder with ease. "Angel, keep this bitch still for an hour," he said while walking away from the group. "I'm consummating the _shit_ out of this marriage, and I don't feel like puking all over my wife!"

Everyone laughed when Lucy smacked him on the ass just before they disappeared from sight.

* * *

The entire continent had been rearranged, and Lucy had been separated from Cobra in the middle of a fight. She wasn't sure where she'd ended up. Everything looked so different now. But one thing that was familiar was the head of pink hair and the forest green eyes staring back at her in shock.

"N-Natsu…" It had been so long since she'd seen him in person. He'd aged in the past year. He looked so much stronger than before. He'd apparently had a bit of a growth spurt in that time, too. Not much, but she definitely felt shorter standing in front of him.

"... Luce." His voice was more ragged, though that was probably because he's been teleported just like she had. And because they were still in the middle of this war.

"I…" What was she supposed to say to him? She hadn't really been prepared to actually see him at all. And from the way he was looking her over, from her head to her feet and pausing at the sight of a wedding ring on her finger, he probably wasn't ready to see her yet either.

They hadn't really talked since he blew up at her after finding out she wasn't coming back to Fairy Tail. It had been months since then, but he'd never tried to call her. And when she spoke with Erza on the lacrima just a few weeks ago, Lucy had been told that he was still upset over it. She'd needed time and a bit of space to deal with her own issues concerning how things had been left, so Lucy figured that was what he needed as well. Time and space.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

She looked around at the craggy mountain pass far off to the west that shouldn't have been there, then to the south where she assumed Magnolia was. "I was with Crime Sorciere," she said. "We got split up by whatever spell probably sent you here, too."

"Were you with Cobra?"

She frowned over at him. "He's in my guild, so yeah."

"That's not… Nevermind." Natsu shook his head and turned away from her, heading north.

"I'm here to help, Natsu!" she called after him. "We all are." When he stopped walking but didn't say anything, she jogged over to him. "Look, Natsu, I…" Lucy sighed when he started walking away from her again. They didn't have time to hash things out right then. They needed to regroup and make a new plan of attack. She and the others had been taking their cues from Jellal, and now all she could do was stick with someone that she knew was on her side until she found her way back to the others.

Cobra would be looking for her as soon as he was able to. She knew that without a doubt.

Natsu just kept walking away, though, so she scowled and grabbed his scarf, dragging him back toward her. "Natsu, listen to me!"

"I don't have time for this, Lucy!" he spat. "In case you didn't know, we're trying to stop Zeref, here!"

"Really?" she spat. "I had no idea! Oh, wait! Me and my guild were the ones doing recon for you guys while you got the guild back together!"

She'd never seen Natsu look so closed off in all their time together, but he did right then. It was still her old partner's face, his eyes, that little dimple at the corner of his mouth that never went away because of how often he smiled. But it felt as though she wasn't looking at the Natsu she knew anymore.

"I have to stop Zeref," he said.

"Fine," she said. "Then let me help." Her hand fell away from his scarf.

"And how are you gonna help, Lucy?" he asked. "Do you have some way of getting me to Fairy Tail? You know, the guild you _abandoned_?"

Well, that stung. She hadn't abandoned Fairy Tail. At least, she didn't think so. But was that what he really thought she'd done?

"Exactly," Natsu sighed. He paused in turning away from her again, then looked into her eyes. "Be careful, okay? Erza would be upset if something happened to you."

Lucy's jaw dropped while he walked away from her again. Wouldn't he be upset if something happened to her? Didn't he care anymore? Sure, they had a bit of a falling out, but the Natsu she knew wouldn't have said something like that. He would've been happy to see her, ready to work together as a team. And maybe it was because her choice to stay with Crime Sorciere had hurt him, but this cold shoulder from the Fire Dragon Slayer hurt her deep in her soul.

She really didn't know where else she could go, except for Fairy Tail. Wherever that was. With everything having been shifted around, she was completely lost.

"Lost…" Lucy's eyes widened a moment later. She pulled out her keys and dashed forward to Natsu again. There was no way in hell she was going to wander around alone. "Pyxis! Natsu, wait!"

He didn't stop walking, but it did seem like he'd slowed down just a bit. She ran past him and blocked his path, holding up the silver key with a triumphant grin.

Natsu blinked down at the key, then looked at her again. Lucy's arm dropped to her side, and she let out a heavy sigh.

"Look, why don't we agree to just work out our issues after this is all over?" she asked. "For the time being, we'll work together, just like the good old days."

He almost looked as though he wanted to say they didn't have to be _the good old days_. Instead, Natsu simply nodded and stepped back from her. "We'll work together for now," he said. "Help me get to Fairy Tail, then find your guild."

Her brows drew together, but she still held out the key and summoned the large red bird to her side. After asking Pyxis to guide them to Fairy Tail, she smiled as it squawked and pointed them to the northeast. At least Natsu had been going in the right direction. Sort of.

Lucy and Natsu let Pyxis lead them toward the guild, and during the walk, Lucy called out to Cobra with her soul. He needed to know she was okay; otherwise, things might get a little more bloody than what was strictly necessary wherever he was at.

' _Erik, I'm okay. I found Natsu. We're going to Fairy Tail. Meet me there when you can. No dying while I'm not around. I love you…'_

* * *

In another time where Lucy had never left Fairy Tail behind, she probably would have been crushed beneath Natsu's weight as he and the other Dragon Slayers fell from the sky. As it stood, she took a large step back and watched him crash to the ground. It was nothing against Natsu, it was just that she didn't feel like dying. Not after she'd been able to help Cana figure out how to cast Fairy Sphere to trap Acnologia's draconic body.

The worn down mages all looked at one another, then cheered as one. The Dragon Slayers were back, and Acnologia and Zeref had been defeated. They'd won.

They'd really won. And they'd survived.

She smiled while grabbing Natsu's hand and helping him up to his feet. He wobbled quite a bit and leaned on her for a good deal of support, but when he looked at her… he smiled right back with that same Natsu smile she knew and loved.

"We did it, Luce," he coughed. "We beat him."

Lucy nodded. "We did it," she said softly. Natsu looked more worn down than ever before, but she hadn't a clue what had happened to him and the others. She was just glad they were alright.

"Cobra!" Midnight yelled. "Shit, Cobra, wake up!"

Her stomach plummeted at the sound of Midnight's desperate voice. Natsu's brows pinched in concern, but his gaze travelled a short distance away. She followed his line of sight, gasping when she saw Midnight, Angel, and Racer gathered around a bloody lump on the ground. She recognized his white coat right away. "No," Lucy whimpered.

She nearly threw Happy at Natsu and grabbed the person standing closest to them - Minerva, she would later realize - depositing Natsu into their care. Then she ran as fast as her tired legs would allow. Lucy dropped to her knees beside Cobra's limp body. The sleeves of his coat were disintegrated, and the scales on his arms were already fading back to his normal tan skin. She carefully rolled Cobra onto his back, biting her lips when she saw the line of blood trickling from one corner of his mouth, the bruises and scratches already forming all over his body. Her fingers trembled as she brought them to his forehead and brushed back his hair. "Erik? Can you hear me?"

He didn't respond. Lucy shifted closer, pulling his head onto her lap. She couldn't stop the tears from welling in her eyes the longer she looked at him.

"Erik… Wake up," she whispered. "Please… You're not allowed to die."

Slowly, his lips curved up into a small, tired smile. His eye barely slid open to look up at her. "You're okay," he rasped.

"Oh, thank god," Angel sighed. She discreetly wiped away the tears that had yet to fall and turned away from the group.

"Don't worry about me," Lucy said, meeting his smile with one of her own.

His eyesight was hazy. He could barely even see Lucy's face. She was more of just a blob above him with golden hair. But her scent and her soul were there, wrapped around him, so comforting and warm.

"What happened with you guys?" she asked. Her fingers gently carded through his hair, and she watched as he let out a soft sigh that turned into a wheezing cough.

" _Not yet, damnit! I can't bite the dust just yet!" Cobra bellowed from where he knelt. His claws dug into the stone beneath him. "I have someone waiting for me. I've got friends down there, and... And I'll do anything to protect them!"_

Cobra simply smiled up at her. She was alive. She was okay. He listened to her soul for a moment, to the memories of what she'd been through since they'd gotten separated. She was alive. His wife… His beautiful, wonderful, perfect fucking wife… She was okay. "Tick tock fucking _fishy_ clock," he rasped. "Times ten… Fuck that fucking dragon _fuck…_ We just raped his goddamn _soul_."

Lucy couldn't help but let out a watery laugh as her hand curved around his cheek. He sounded so out of it right then, sort of like when he woke up a little too early and his brain just hadn't caught up with the rest of his body. If he didn't look like he was seconds away from keeling over, she would've made a comment about him being precious.

Cobra's hand shook as he slowly lifted it from the ground. He tried to bring it up to her soft cheek, but it hurt too much to move it that high so he settled for her guild mark. He only noticed in passing that she was wearing a bikini of some sort. When had she gone through a wardrobe change? Fuck, he was tired. "Belle, I love you," he groaned. "So much…"

"I love you too, Beast," she said with a tender smile.

His laugh was nothing more than a breathy wheeze that caused a flash of pain to rip up the center of his stomach. His eye closed again as he whispered, "I think I need a doctor."

Lucy glanced down at his body, taking a closer look at the scratches on his arms and his tattered shirt. There was a nasty bruise forming right around his sternum. Maybe his ribs had been broken. "Probably," she said. She looked up and noticed that Natsu was close by, hovering at the edge of the crowd that had gathered without her even realizing it. "Natsu, is Porlyusica around? Do you smell her anywhere?"

Natsu's gaze was heavy while he watched the way she held Cobra. His eyes honed in one the little tan line on her finger, where a wedding ring had been hours ago. "Did you guys get married?"

Lucy's eyes went wide and she looked down at her hand. "Shit," she muttered. She'd lost the ring at some point while dealing with Brandish and finding out the truth about Aquarius. It hadn't really been all that important at the time, all things considered. It was just a ring, but… "Erik, my ring-"

Cobra was still smiling as his fingers brushed across her wrist. "I'll get you a new one," he rasped. "One from me, and not from Capricorn… for some bullshit mission."

Lucy sighed and looked back up at Natsu. He was waiting for an answer from her, and with everything they'd been through recently, she figured he deserved the truth. "We got married on the way here," she said. "I wanted to wait until we came back to Fiore, but with everything that was about to happen…"

She didn't need to say that she was scared of what the outcome might have been. Everyone had been. Except maybe Natsu. He was always so sure they'd come out victorious.

"Really should see that doctor," Cobra sighed, and Lucy noticed how labored his breathing had become.

She jolted and met Natsu's gaze again. "Porlyusica?"

He was quiet for a moment, and she watched as his eyes narrowed down at her. His hands clenched into fists at his sides, then loosened. "I'll get her," he said. Natsu turned and walked carefully through the crowd of mages who were reuniting with one another, celebrating their victory. Luckily, Wendy was well off enough through Chelia's healing that they were already working on getting an infirmary set up. Porlyusica was probably already there.

* * *

Natsu ducked into the tent that Lucy and Cobra were in, making his way past several occupied cots. He paused just before she could notice him, and simply watched the way she knelt beside Cobra's cot and brushed her fingers through his hair while he laid there, unconscious and healing. From what he'd heard Porlyusica and Wendy saying on the way in, Cobra's organs had been pulverized, and he'd gotten five broken ribs. He'd needed stitches after they went in and stopped his internal bleeding. He'd make a full recovery, but it would take time.

Natsu was just a bit ashamed of the errant thought that if Cobra didn't make it, Lucy would come back to Fairy Tail. Because he didn't want Cobra dead. Not after what they'd all just gone through together.

He found himself staring at Lucy's new guild mark when she shifted. Her hair was so much longer now, but when she pushed it back behind her shoulder, he saw it. Crime Sorciere's guild mark. And Natsu knew for a fact that she didn't have the pink Fairy Tail mark on her hand anymore. It had been replaced, just like he'd been. He'd been so upset with her when he found out that she wasn't coming back to Fairy Tail. She was supposed to be _his_ partner, _his_ best friend. He'd brought her to the guild, and he'd wanted to keep her there with him.

She belonged in Fairy Tail, not with former criminals like Cobra. Not with people who'd tried to sacrifice her to a giant clock. But Natsu knew better than anyone, how forgiving Lucy could be. She wore her heart out in the open for all to see. He loved that about her.

But seeing that guild mark on her felt wrong in so many ways. Because Erza had told him, after he'd yelled at Lucy on the lacrima and stormed off, what would happen if Lucy fully joined Crime Sorciere. At the time, she'd still had her Fairy Tail mark. And that meant that she could have come back to them. She could've left all the nomadic travelling behind, and gone on adventures with Natsu and the team instead, with an apartment to return to when their missions were done.

But _that_ mark… Lucy could never remove it. She'd made her choice, and she'd made it permanent by getting the mark of this guild on her. He just couldn't understand why she wouldn't want to be with Fairy Tail anymore.

Finally, he stepped forward and made his presence known. Lucy stood up and smiled at Natsu, then hugged him tightly. It hurt him more than he could put into words, the way his arms hesitated to wrap around her. "Luce, I…" He sighed and let her go, staring at the ground. "Can we talk?"

"Sure," she said. He shouldn't have been surprised by the way she grabbed his hands and pulled him to the empty cot beside Cobra. When they sat down, he realized it smelled like her. She must have slept there the night before to keep an eye on Cobra. She didn't let go of his hands once they were seated, and he couldn't stop staring at the blank space on the back of her right hand. It was too empty.

"I've gotta know," he said softly, "Why you won't come home."

"Because I made a new life for myself with Crime Sorciere," she said. She waited until he looked into her tired brown eyes again. "Fairy Tail was gone, Natsu. And by the time you guys were bringing everyone back together… I couldn't leave them."

"Why not?" he asked. God, he was so glad that Happy had agreed to stick by Pantherlily's side for a while. He didn't need Happy butting in right then. He just needed to understand this. "I thought you loved Fairy Tail."

She sighed and tightened her grip on his hands. "This isn't about me loving the guild any less," she said. "Fairy Tail will always be family. _You'll_ always be family to me."

That made him feel a little better at least. A little less like he was being thrown away for something new and shiny.

"When the guild split up after Tartaros, I was a mess," she said. "And I know part of it was because you left me behind, and-"

"I left because I had to," he interjected. "I lost Igneel. I searched for him for so long… all this time…" His hands clenched in his lap, and only relaxed when he realized he was crushing her fingers just a little. Her thumbs drew slow circles over the backs of his hands, almost as though he hadn't done a thing to hurt her. "I searched so long for him, and he was in me the whole time. That last piece of my dad was _in me_."

There was so much that had gone wrong around that time. So much of it had hinged on watching the last remnants of Igneel's spirit fighting against Acnologia, watching him die right then and there.

"And then everything was destroyed," Natsu continued. "And you were hurt… God, you were hurt so bad and I didn't even protect you. I couldn't even keep you safe." He shook his head and forced back the memories of that time. He hated thinking about it at all, but there was one thing that had kept him going when he was off training. "I knew that if we were ever gonna stop Zeref, I had to be strong. Those were just demons he'd made, y'know? Someone strong enough to make demons like that… I couldn't have defeated him."

Lucy's hand came up to rub large circles over his shoulders, drawing his attention once more. She'd always been affectionate, but he couldn't remember her ever being this physically comforting before. She seemed so much more open now. And so much further away than the girl he used to know.

"I understand that now," Lucy said. "I wish you'd stayed, though. Or taken me with you. I wanted to go with you, but…" His brow furrowed as she shook her head and sighed. "Natsu, we all lost something that day. We all felt that pain in one way or another."

He wasn't really sure that was the case. Well, the other Dragon Slayers knew what he'd gone through. They'd been looking for their own dragons just as long.

"It's not the same for any of us," she said. "No one can understand the pain that Minerva or Mira or Elfman feels over what they experienced, except for them. But just because it's not the same thing, doesn't mean that we should have ignored it. We should've done what Fairy Tail always does. We should've stuck together."

His frown deepened slightly when he thought back to the conversation he'd had with Erza over Lucy. There'd been a lot of information being thrown at him from the angry redhead, and a whole lot of defending Lucy had happened as well. But one thing had stuck out to him, that he just didn't understand. Probably because he wasn't around to know just what she'd been talking about.

" _Natsu, you must understand that no one loves this guild more than Lucy," Erza said. "When the others left, she stayed in Magnolia. She waited until the last person was gone. And when there was no one else here for her to watch over from the guild, she left as well. She did that because she loves Fairy Tail. I won't allow you to claim she doesn't love this guild, when you don't know the things she's sacrificed to protect us."_

"Erza says you left Magnolia last," he said slowly. She nodded. "What did you lose, Luce?"

She reached into her key pouch and pulled out several broken bits of gold. Natsu's eyes rounded when she held her hand out and showed him a destroyed gate key. A golden key. One of the Zodiac keys with little squiggles on it.

"It was the only way to save everyone when you guys were stuck in the Cube," she said.

He kept staring at the symbol, though. Finally, he said, "Aquarius?" It wasn't hard to notice her surprise. At least that was still the same. She still made the same face she did before things had changed. Natsu pouted and crossed his arms over his chest. "I do pay attention, y'know," he muttered.

Lucy laughed, and he couldn't help but smile over at her while she put the broken key back in her pouch. After a moment, his smile faltered. "You really broke her key… to save Fairy Tail?"

"To save my family," she said, and her hands rested on his again. "At the time, I didn't know everything I needed to. I thought she was gone forever."

"She's not?" he asked hopefully. Maybe if they could get her key back, then…

"No," Lucy laughed. "I have to find her key again. But at the time, I didn't know that. I just knew that breaking her key meant I wouldn't be able to summon her anymore. And it hurt so much… I needed you and Erza, and Happy and Gray. I needed someone to talk to."

She frowned and her shoulders hunched slightly.

"Well, I know _now_ that I needed someone to talk to, even though I didn't _try_ to talk to anyone about it."

"You never said anything." Natsu would have listened, if Lucy had told him that she needed to talk. If she'd said it was important, if she'd looked at him with this same look she was giving him right now, as though she was on the verge of tears… He would have stayed. He would have listened to her. And he would have done everything in his power to make the pain go away for her. To protect her the way he'd failed to when Jackal nearly killed her.

"You left so quickly, I couldn't tell you," she said. "It took me a long time to be ready to talk about it with anyone. And I knew, deep down, you were trying to deal with losing Igneel."

Natsu wondered if he really would have been able to listen to her back then. He'd been hurting as well at the time. He'd wanted to get away from everything, to deal with the knowledge that his father really was gone. Would he have even noticed if Lucy needed his help?

"But I was bitter about how things ended with the guild," she said with a sad, pathetic little laugh. "Really bitter. And when I finally left Magnolia, I ended up finding Crime Sorciere on accident. Between Erza vouching for him and what he did in the Grand Magic Games, I knew I could trust Jellal. I knew he and Meredy were good guys." Her gaze drifted toward Cobra's unconscious form on the next cot. "And then the Oracion Seis were there, too."

Natsu nodded. "Erza explained it to me," he said. "When Jackal destroyed the Council, he also destroyed the prison. Jellal took them in."

"He's good at taking in strays, huh?" she giggled. He laughed with her, and their eyes met again. He'd really missed the way she looked at him. "Jellal let me join his guild. I felt so alone and lost at the time, and I didn't even realize I'd been doing it to myself."

"How?" he asked, frowning.

"I isolated myself from my friends. I didn't try to reach out to anyone for help, and I let it just fester… God, I treated Erza like crap when I saw her a few weeks later. I blamed her for everything…"

Natsu winced and scratched the back of his neck. That sounded pretty familiar. "I didn't treat you much better when I found out you weren't coming back."

He'd yelled at her. In all the time he'd known Lucy, he'd never yelled at her out of anger. He knew that he was loud - she had just as big a mouth as he did most times - but he'd screamed at her.

" _It's just full of a bunch of criminals and assholes who steal people's friends… If Luce wants to ditch everyone who cares about her for people like Cobra, then forget her!"_

Maybe he hadn't really screamed _at_ her… But he'd said some pretty horrible things. He'd actually gotten mad at her about it. He couldn't remember a time when he'd ever really been angry with Lucy. He knew she wasn't the sort of person who would abandon the ones she cared about.

Still, Lucy just shrugged. "You were upset," she said. "I get it."

"Still, that's now how nakama should act." Her shoulder bumped into his, and he found her smiling up at him.

"Maybe not," she said. "But everyone fights. You and Gray fought every single day before. You nearly killed each other just yesterday, but I saw him checking up on you this morning."

That had been just as much a surprise for Natsu, in all honesty. He'd thought, with everything that had happened between him and Gray, that they wouldn't be able to work together anymore. He wasn't END any longer, as far as he knew, so there was no reason for Gray to try and kill him. Except, Gray was still a Devil Slayer, and if he thought that Natsu might turn on them…

But that just wasn't the case. Gray had actually come looking for him, on a sole mission to talk with Natsu, and see how he was holding up. There really wasn't a whole lot of privacy in this part of the city, since it was still being used to treat the wounded while mages scattered across the continent to search for supplies. So, Natsu had been pretty vague with his answers.

He was fine. He wasn't hurt too badly. At least he wasn't a walking bandage this time around. His right arm was still a bit sore from that final punch he'd socked Acnologia with, but that was to be expected. But, no, he was fine. And just before Gray left, Natsu had grabbed his arm and told him something he hadn't planned on saying out loud.

" _Gray, I'm sorry Zeref made me."_

It had been something he'd never wanted to tell anyone. There were a few people who knew just what he was, how he'd been made instead of born. How he was a reincarnated version of Zeref's younger brother who'd died. But while those people might have known how he came to be alive, and even how Igneel started teaching him… For some reason, he'd only felt comfortable telling Gray that he was sorry for even existing in the first place.

And while, just the day before, Gray might have scoffed and brushed it off, he didn't that time. No, he'd pulled Natsu into his chilly arms and called him a _squinty-eyed moron_ , just like he always did. And Gray told him, regardless of who was around to hear them, _"Never apologize for being alive, Natsu. You might be a pain in my ass, but I still love you. And I don't want to live in a world that doesn't have you in it. I'll kick your ass if I hear that again."_

Natsu hadn't cared who could see them after Gray had said that. He'd hugged his longtime rival tightly, not wanting to let go in case the Ice Make mage found a way to slip through his fingers.

"We fight, and we make up," Lucy said, drawing his attention back to her. " _That's_ how nakama acts. It's the making up part that matters the most."

Natsu blinked in surprise, then chuckled. "That's what I've missed the most since I left," he sighed. "You always know what to say, Luce."

Lucy laughed and leaned into his side, sighing in contentment when his overly warm arm wrapped around her shoulders to pull her closer. "I've gotten a lot of practice with Erik. He's much more… impulsive than you are."

"I can't really see it," Natsu snorted. "Cobra's kind of a jerk sometimes, but he's not crazy."

Lucy shook her head at that and turned her attention back toward Cobra. Of course Natsu would say that. He didn't know the Poison Slayer like she did.

"No one knows me like you do," Cobra rasped from his cot with his eye still closed. He barely sneered a moment later. "And get your sweaty fucking arm off my wife."

"Oh, be nice, Erik," Lucy said.

His eye cracked open and slid toward her in a menacing glare. "What did I say about calling me that in public?"

Lucy bit her lips to hold back a laugh. She'd taken to calling him by his real name all the time, even though she knew that he didn't want to be called Erik unless they were alone. It was always just them and the rest of their guild mates, and everyone else knew Cobra's real name as it was. Just like they all knew that he would poison them if anyone who wasn't Lucy tried to call him Erik. It was just never all that much of an issue. Until now. "You know, I seem to have forgotten," Lucy snickered. "What have you said about being called… _that_ in public?"

Cobra gave her barely there snarl that she knew had not one iota of venom in it. He was surprisingly forgiving when it came to her. "All your hippie hugging is giving me cavities," he growled. "Take it outside."

"But I thought you wanted Natsu to stop hugging me," Lucy teased.

"I mean, _he_ should go the fuck outside. You stay here."

Lucy rolled her eyes and tapped Natsu's arm around her shoulders. As he let go, she stood and moved across the short distance between the two cots, then lifted Cobra's head so she could sit down. Once his head was in her lap, her fingers sifted through his hair and she smiled down at him. He tried to glare up at her, but it just didn't faze in her the slightest. "Compromise," she whispered.

"Not in my vocabulary," he huffed.

Natsu watched in silence as Lucy made an adorable little kissy face at Cobra that had the Poison Slayer visibly trying not to smile. Her fingers combed through his maroon hair, dragging along his scalp. That was the same thing she used to do for Natsu on the train. But he could see how Cobra relaxed just from her proximity. How he melted just a little with the steady rhythm of her nails scraping along his scalp. How his eye drifted closed and the tension between his brows slipped away as the seconds ticked by. Lucy's free hand brushed along the shell of his ear, and Cobra's head turned toward her stomach while she lightly massaged the pointed tip.

"You still need your rest," Lucy said gently. "Just relax for now."

Cobra hummed something not even Natsu could make out. It was probably just gibberish anyway. He knew from experience that Lucy's hands were magical.

It almost seemed as though they'd both forgotten all about Natsu being there. He was tempted to leave and give the two some privacy, but then the look in Lucy's eyes as she gazed down at Cobra caught his attention. As Natsu studied her expression, he finally understood it for the first time. He knew why she'd chosen to stay with Crime Sorciere, even after finding out that Fairy Tail was coming back.

It was something that he'd thought maybe they would have together, being partners and all. They'd been so close before, that Natsu figured it was just inevitable. It was why he'd slept in her bed and spent so much time at her apartment. Because he'd thought that whatever those strange feelings he'd had for Lucy were, they meant that he was supposed to be with her. But that had just been fleeting. He knew now that it was nothing more than a crush on his end. He didn't feel that way now though, and he hadn't for a while.

But the way Lucy looked at Cobra right then… she'd never looked at Natsu that way. The way he'd looked at her once upon a time. There was love there, for sure, but it was deeper than that. He could see it - even though he wasn't sure how - but Natsu just had this feeling in his gut that this look… it was like they understood each other, down to their very souls. Like Lucy knew the darkest parts of Cobra and accepted them.

When Cobra's head shifted only slightly, and Natsu saw how he sighed and brushed his hand along Lucy's knee, he knew that Cobra must have felt the same way. Sure, he had an advantage, being able to hear souls, but this was more than that.

It was the one thing that he and Lucy hadn't ever really had together. They'd been close, they'd understood one another as much as he'd thought two people were capable of, but this was different.

And Natsu had known that when Lucy said she wouldn't come back to Fairy Tail, things would never be the same. Not in the guild and not between them. They weren't as close as they'd once been. Not just physically, but emotionally. In the past couple months he'd spent rounding up guild members, rebuilding the guild hall (again), and trying to get everything back in order, there had been days where he'd ached to have Lucy's apartment to turn to for a cup of tea and a warm bed that smelled just like her.

He'd wanted to have her there, not because he wanted to _be_ with her, but because she'd become such a big part of his life. He didn't want to lose her too. Not after he'd already lost so much.

But it wasn't a matter of him or the guild being replaced for her.

Lucy had found in Cobra something that she'd never had before. It wasn't until he sat there, watching the way she gently soothed Cobra, and how the Poison Slayer responded, that he had a name for what he'd never had with Lucy. True love.

It wasn't until that very moment that Natsu realized he couldn't fault her for choosing Crime Sorciere over Fairy Tail. She'd chosen to stay with the man she loved. And if she _had_ come back to Fairy Tail, then she never would've seen Cobra again. Not really, anyway.

Sure, they could have tried to meet in secret, like Erza did with Jellal when he'd still been in the country, but that wasn't the kind of life Lucy needed. It wasn't a proper life for anyone. Lucy deserved to feel loved every single day, to wake up and _know_ that there was someone who wanted her to be in his life because he was right there beside her. Natsu hoped with everything he was worth that Erza could have the same thing with Jellal one day, so she could be happy. He didn't want either of them to have to hide who they loved, to pretend the other person wasn't as important as they truly were.

But it was something that Lucy had right then, with Cobra and with Crime Sorciere. She had the ability to spend her time with Cobra because she'd stayed in Crime Sorciere, instead of jumping ship and running off to fix Fairy Tail. She could feel his arms around her whenever she wanted, because she'd chosen to stay with him.

She'd proven her devotion to Cobra by sticking by his side. No, Natsu could never hate her for something like that. Besides, she would always be nakama. She would always be family. Regardless of how long they spent apart, she would always be one of the best friends he'd ever had, and the best partner he could have asked for. No matter what happened in the future, that was something Natsu knew would never change.

"Hey, Luce?" he said softly. She hummed and looked up at him with a tender smile that he returned. "You know, you're always welcome back home, right?"

"Erza said the same thing," Lucy said. Her eyes softened. "Thank you, Natsu."

He nodded and watched her for another moment. Just one more moment. It wasn't like he'd never see her again. He knew for a fact that she had a lacrima, and that she'd answer his call as long as she wasn't busy with something. Finally, Natsu stood and stretched. "Well, I've gotta find that stripper. Make sure he didn't die."

Lucy laughed when he turned toward the exit. "You saw him not that long ago."

Natsu grinned at her over his shoulder. "Yeah, but he's so stupid, he could trip on a rock and bleed to death." He did want to go and find Gray, but it wasn't to check on him. He wanted to talk. Gray knew the truth about his heritage, and he just needed to get things off his chest. Whether it was a fight or a contest between just the two of them, or actually sitting down and talking… Natsu needed something to help him cope with the fact that he was the reason Zeref had created all those demons, and why he'd been cursed in the first place.

Besides, Gray probably had some things he needed to talk about too. And if Natsu could be the one he leaned on when he really needed it, then that was exactly what he would be.

He took a few steps away, then paused when Cobra called out to him. Natsu turned slightly, only to find Cobra watching him, with his brows furrowed in thought.

"Hurry up and rebuild your guild," Cobra said.

"I plan on it," Natsu chuckled.

Cobra smirked then. "Good. I'll need a place to send your wedding invitation." Lucy and Natsu were both utterly confused. "Pretty sure Titania will murder me if she doesn't get to be there for Lucy's wedding. I just barely avoided death, and I'd like to keep my ass alive a bit longer."

Natsu just laughed and waved while leaving the tent. Once they were alone, Lucy looked down at Cobra with a small frown. "I thought you said that Natsu wasn't welcome at our wedding."

Her fingers drifted down his jaw and back up, and Cobra's eye drifted closed once again. "You said you'd never forgive him for what he did," he said gently. It wasn't accusing, just stating a fact. Lucy had been so adamant for so long that she'd never forgive Natsu for abandoning her.

She sighed through her nose and shook her head. "That's what I thought at the time," she said. "Guess I changed my mind."

"Nah," he chuckled, and her narrowed gaze settled on him once more. "I knew you'd forgive him."

"Oh, really…"

"It's just who you are, beautiful." He reached up to hold her hand on his cheek, carefully taking in the scent of lilies on the tips of her fingers. "I think that's what I fell in love with first, you know. Your soul is just… so fucking perfect." His smile widened when her cheeks flushed a gentle pink. "I've changed my mind too, though. About Salamander. He's alright in my book."

He could hear how skeptical she was about his sudden one-eighty concerning Natsu. They'd both been somewhere near the same page where Natsu was concerned for a long time, but Cobra had hated Natsu for much longer than she had. And really, she'd never actually _hated_ Natsu. She'd just been having quite the bitch fit over things that would have been nothing worth mentioning if they'd just communicated with one another.

"And why is that?" Lucy asked slowly.

"You mean, aside from him being the bastard who got the last blow on Acnologia?"

"Yeah, aside from that," she laughed. "I'm sure you're jealous that you didn't get to do it."

Cobra shrugged, and instantly regretted it when the stitches on his stomach pulled uncomfortably. "It really doesn't matter too much," he said. By that point, he'd hit his quota for slaughter well before they'd gotten to fight Acnologia. At least he'd gotten his murder kicks handled before having to fight August's bullshit ass. "The only issue I had with Acnologia was him trying to fucking kill me for no goddamn reason. But Natsu…"

He had to pause to breathe for a minute. The pain in his stomach and up to his chest was starting to come back. Had they actually found a medication that he could use to numb the pain? He'd tried shit before, but his body absorbed it too quickly. Lucy lifted the sheet to look at his bandages, but they were still clean. He hadn't pulled a stitch, at least. But it sure fucking felt like his intestines had sloshed out onto the floor, and were in the process of getting pummelled by a troupe of riverdancers in stilettos.

Still, he pushed through the pain. He could handle this. "Salamander understands more than he lets on. And he's a total fucking sap, which is hilarious."

"You're a total sap too, sweetheart," Lucy crooned.

"I'm nothing of the sort," he sniffed.

"Oh? So that wasn't you who cried when I said I'd marry you?" she teased.

"I did fucking not," he growled. His stomach tightened up when he lifted his head an inch from her lap, and he wanted to take a chainsaw to his midsection to make the searing pain disappear. "Motherfucker!" He wasn't even ashamed of grabbing Lucy's hand and squeezing the everloving shit out of it while he tried to keep breathing through the pain.

"You did though," Lucy said gently after he'd calmed down again. "I remember."

#

" _Promise me, one day, I'll get to have your children," she said._

 _The last thing she'd expected was for him to pull back and stare down at her with his smile gone and his single eye blown wide in shock. What she'd expected even less was to see tears welling in his eye the longer he stared at her. His mouth opened and closed several times, but she hadn't a clue just what he was thinking. Had she really surprised him that much by saying she wanted to have kids with him?_

 _But Cobra just didn't know what to say to her about that. He hadn't been expecting that at all. Not from her. Not from anyone, really._

 _He'd always just assumed that he would never have kids of his own. Maybe one day he might stumble on a kid that he could stand to be around for more than a day, and he could adopt them. He'd thought that would be the only way he'd ever have someone to raise. And even then, it was a long shot. Because Cobra knew he wasn't any sort of parent material. And Lucy should have realized that by now._

 _In the past year that he'd been with Lucy, with all their joking about being engaged, he'd never really considered the very real possibility that they'd actually get married. But he'd fallen in love with her, and he'd asked her to marry him, and now she was telling him that she'd actually have his fucking kids._

 _Why the fuck would she want to bring a child of his into the world? He was a fucking lunatic. The fact that she loved him at all had him questioning her sanity sometimes - he knew he was pretty unlovable. The things that were wrong with his head could be a genetic thing. What if they had a kid who was just as detached from their own sanity as he was? Or worse?_

 _It was just a bad fucking idea._

 _He knew it was, but that didn't stop Cobra from picturing her being a mother. How her tight, toned stomach would grow as the months progressed in her pregnancy, how she'd glow with happiness while her hands gently smoothed over her belly. She'd sing to their baby, the same way she sung to him when he was having a shitty night to help him sleep._

" _I'll marry you, Erik," she said, watching the tears finally break free from his lashes and slowly glide down his cheek._

 _He couldn't stop himself from picturing her lying in a bed, her face screwed up in pain and her hair tied up into a messy, sweaty bun. He could hear himself telling her to push, to breathe, encouraging her to keep going while he kissed her white-knuckled fist as it gripped his hand with a fierceness that could shatter his bones._

 _She was always so patient with Cobra and the bullshit he put her through. He knew she'd be the same with their kids. A whole future full of possibilities lay ahead, and he just couldn't stop picturing everything. But it all kept returning to Lucy, to what she'd said. And the longer he imagined that future that he'd never thought he could have, the more it felt like something deep within his chest had shattered._

 _He hadn't a clue what that feeling was, or why it hurt so fucking much. He did know it had everything to do with what she'd said._

" _But if I'm gonna be your wife, then I want to be a mother, too."_

 _Fuck… He wanted her to have their baby one day. The longer he imagined what kind of life he'd have with Lucy, with a kid of their own, the more it hurt inside. Fuck. He actually did want to be a father. The breath he let out almost sounded as though one of Gajeel's metal pole-arms had connected with his chest and crushed his lungs._

" _I want to have a family of our own," Lucy said. Her brows furrowed when he didn't breathe in. "Not now, but… someday. When we talk more about it…"_

 _When he still didn't speak, Lucy wondered if there was something wrong. He was crying in complete silence. The longer she looked at him, she realized he almost looked scared. A little like he was in pain. But he didn't look happy anymore, that was for sure. She knew he liked kids, but maybe he just didn't want any of his own. Maybe she should have waited to bring that up at all. But if she'd waited, and they got married, then she wouldn't find out until it was too late that he didn't want kids. And that part of her that longed to have a family would be left unfulfilled._

" _Shut up," Cobra whimpered. His lips trembled when she focused fully on him again, and not the worry that was starting to curl in her gut. How the hell was he supposed to tell her that he wanted the same thing? "S-Stop thinking like that."_

" _Erik, what's wrong?"_

 _He didn't know how to tell her though, so he just shook his head and collapsed on top of her. His arms shifted and wrapped tightly around her slender frame, holding her close while his tears trickled down onto her guild mark. His lips puckered on her breast again and again in short, desperate attempts at telling her the truth._

 _He wanted the same thing. God, he really did want that, no matter how fucking stupid it was. Whatever Lucy wanted, he'd give to her. World domination, the fucking sun, anything at all._

 _She held him tenderly, with one arm around his shuddering shoulders and her other hand smoothing over his hair. He'd forgotten that he was kneeling between her legs until he felt them tightening around his hips as she used her whole body to cradle him. Fuck, why did she have to do this? Why did she have to be so damn perfect? So caring?_

 _He hiccupped and sniffled loudly, but it didn't stop his tears from coming more forcefully. He didn't want to cry. He really fucking didn't. But he couldn't help himself anymore. And Cobra knew that, if he was going to lose it like this with someone around, he wanted it to be Lucy._

 _She gently kissed his head, and he felt her smiling. "You make me happy, too, Erik," she sighed._

#

Cobra looked up at Lucy from where he laid on the cot, and muttered, "I didn't fucking cry because you said you'd marry me."

No, he'd cried that day because he'd been overwhelmed. She'd made him so unbelievably happy that his ass had been pushed to the point of fucking crying all over her. And what was worse, he hadn't even realized that he'd been happy. So few things in his life had made him feel that way, that when Lucy had done something as simple as saying she wanted to marry him and have his kids, he'd been unable to do a single thing about it.

Luckily for him, he supposed, Lucy had figured it out pretty quickly. And she hadn't teased him over his tears. Until just now. A little bit.

"I know," she said with a small smile. "But none of that baby talk until after we're married."

Cobra scoffed, and he was more than thankful that it didn't make his stomach hurt worse than it already did. "First of all, we _are_ married." He couldn't help but smirk when she laughed. Oh, he knew exactly what she was doing. It was fucking adorable. "And second, you know she'll kill _me_ if she finds out we did it without her there. You'll be entirely innocent, and no amount of explaining will make her see it differently before I'm sliced to ribbons."

Lucy's lips pursed and she pinched his scarred cheek. "I know," she crooned. "And I wanna keep you."

"I'll bite those little rat claws off."

She laughed and traced the line of his nose instead, and his eye slid shut. Crazy bitch… She knew just how to relax him… He hated that it worked, but he loved that about her. "So let's just pretend for the time being that we're still just engaged," she said. "Then she can be my maid of honor… after I ask her to do it."

He chuckled, then hissed as his stitches pulled again. He was probably going to need another dose of whatever had been given to him to keep the pain away. Then again, it would most likely knock him out. Oh well, he could use the rest after the shit he'd had to deal with. "Maybe let me get to the point of standing before we do any planning."

"Probably for the best," she laughed. They both turned their attention to the entry of the tent when several sets of footsteps drew nearer. The entirety of Crime Sorciere stood there, smiling down at them. Lucy's eyes narrowed when they landed on Jellal. "I hope you didn't go spilling any marriage beans."

He was visibly exhausted. Everyone was from the past few days. Still, he chuckled and led the others over to surround Cobra's cot. "No beans have been spilled," Jellal said. "There wasn't really time."

Angel lifted a brow at Cobra when she saw him shift and wince. "Hurting?"

"Immensely," he groaned. "I'll be fine in a bit."

"Maybe next time you won't get your organs rearranged and blown to bits," Midnight yawned.

"If I ever have to fight Acnologia again, I'm putting his ass in a time-out box and taping it shut," Cobra muttered. "Fuck that asshole."

"You really shouldn't speak ill of the dead," Meredy said.

Lucy placed her hands on Cobra's shoulders before he could shrug, stopping him from finally pulling one of his stitches loose. "Erik, I'm gonna need you to emote just a little less, physically," she laughed. He rolled his eye at her.

As the conversation continued, with Jellal explaining what had been going on in the surrounding area now that the remaining Alakitasian forces had fully retreated - and that Reedus had contacted a small guild of Pictomagic users to help him recreate the maps with Fiore's new landscape to be distributed to the populace - Lucy found herself getting lost in thought over what would happen in the coming months.

First and foremost, Cobra needed to recuperate. His lacrima did give him the ability to heal a tad bit faster than most people, but she was going to force him to take it easy. From what Wendy had told her, he'd given the fight everything he had, and it had really only been a single punch from Acnologia that did most of the damage to his organs. He'd only made it worse by standing back up and continuing to fight a losing battle. Apparently, his ribs had been broken by August.

She was just happy that he'd jumped on board with the other Dragon Slayers and sent his magic out to help Natsu finish Acnologia off.

But after he was healed up, they could start planning a real wedding. It didn't need to be anything fancy. Lucy just wasn't interested in getting some ball gown and having a huge ceremony with all the bells and whistles. She'd already had the wedding she wanted. Simple, no stress or worries about a caterer or cake, and whether the party favors were the right color scheme to go with everything else. Or if the seating arrangements would work because she couldn't sit Natsu anywhere near Laxus without the whole area being filled with electricity.

A second ceremony was just for show. So she could have Erza there by her side as her maid of honor. Because when she'd told Erza that Cobra had proposed, the Requip mage had been so happy for her. They'd grown so much closer in the time that they'd been separated by miles of ocean and on two separate continents. Erza deserved to be there.

The decision to get married while they were travelling was a spur of the moment thing, and she didn't regret it one bit. She just really wanted her best friend to be a part of that special day.

"Lucy, we're going to find something to eat," Racer said. "Want us to bring you back anything?"

When she thought about it, she figured a few other people would want to be at the wedding as well. Natsu was already getting an invitation that Cobra had extended, so then she could invite the rest of her old team. Maybe she could have Master Makarov officiate it, if he was even still the guild master for Fairy Tail - she wasn't sure, since Erza had been the guild master while he'd been away. But he was still a wizard saint, so even if he wasn't the guild master, it could still work.

"Lucy?" Angel said a little more forcefully.

She knew that she didn't want a fancy dress, and she couldn't picture Cobra wearing a tuxedo at all. But Lucy knew that she'd need to talk to him and get his input on it. A new ring was definitely in order for her, though. She'd lost the other one, and Cobra _had_ said that he would give her one that he picked out. Maybe he'd get one for himself too, so they could have rings that were really theirs. Not from that mission they'd taken that started this whirlwind romance between them, but something that showed they were entirely serious about one another. That this was the real deal, and nothing would change it.

She didn't notice the way Cobra smiled up at her distant, unfocused expression, then turned back to the others. "Bring her some chicken wings, if you find any," he said. "She loves barbecue sauce."

"What's going on with her?" Meredy asked.

"Nothing," he chuckled. "She's just tired." He'd wait a bit before telling the others that there was going to be another wedding ceremony. He just didn't have the fucking energy for it right then. His gaze shifted to Midnight, the one person in the group who was watching him more than Lucy.

' _He's lying… But if he's saying Lucy's tired, then he probably doesn't want us knowing what she's thinking about… Fine… I'll play along…'_

Midnight smirked and wrapped an arm around Meredy's shoulders, turning her toward the tent's exit. "I've fallen asleep with my eyes open plenty of times," he said. "She'll be fine."

Cobra watched everyone leave as they accepted what Midnight had said. He could have kissed that narcoleptic assbag.

" _You owe me for this, Cobra."_

He did, but he reasoned that Midnight's arm being anywhere on Meredy was payment enough. She was blushing up a storm over it, and Midnight didn't notice at all. God, those two were fucking hopeless. He looked back up at Lucy and carefully lifted his hand to place it over hers on the cot. She blinked repeatedly and smiled down at him, lacing their fingers together.

"Feeling okay?" she asked.

He stopped himself from nodding. He'd promised he wouldn't lie to her. "This shit hurts like hell," he said. "But I'll be alright for a bit."

"Mmkay. You just let me know if you need anything, and I can go find one of the doctors that are roaming around. Wendy and Porlyusica have been keeping pretty detailed charts for you, since you needed a special mix of painkillers."

"You know," he said softly before she could get distracted again. Her soul was already drifting off into fantasy land, and there would be no getting her back if he didn't keep her focused on him. "I really fucking love you."

"I love you, too," she giggled.

"I mean, I'm glad I was able to make it back to you. I didn't want to die without you," he said, his brows drawing together.

Her honey eyes softened and her grip on his hand tightened marginally. "I knew you'd come back, Erik," she said. "You're too stubborn to let some Apocalypse Dragon kill you."

"I'm being serious, here."

"So am I," she said. "I put my faith in you to make it back alive, and you didn't disappoint. And now that it's all over, we can move on. No more dealing with Zeref's bullshit."

He nodded and turned just enough to nestle his nose against her stomach. His lips curled into a smile a moment later at the scent he picked up. "You'll be happy to know your period's starting soon," he mumbled.

Lucy sighed and her head fell back in feigned defeat. "This is your fault for not getting me pregnant."

"Well, I'll be sure to knock you up once you're done bleeding," he laughed. When he heard the humor rippling through her soul from how she held back her own laughter, it made the pain in his stomach entirely worth it.

"Hell no," Lucy snickered, peering down at him again. "We've still got plenty of adventures to go on, and I'm in no rush to put that on hold just for a baby."

That was more relieving than he would have imagined. Just because he wanted her to have his kids one day, it didn't mean he was actually mentally prepared for it to happen. Besides, there was a whole world of possibilities opening up for them now that Zeref had been defeated. He hadn't a clue what lay ahead of them, but he did know that he wanted to face whatever it was with her by his side. "Finding that key of yours is priority number one," he said.

Her smile wobbled just a little. She hadn't told him about her conversation with Aquarius. He'd been just a little delirious when they were reunited, and then he was unconscious and getting his organs healed as best as Wendy and Porlyusica could manage. Still, she shouldn't have been surprised that he'd heard it in her soul. It was some pretty monumental shit, all things considered. And the fact that he would even mention Aquarius warmed her heart. "Searching for Aquarius and having a wedding, huh?" she said, wiping away her tears before they could finish forming on her lashes.

"Hell yes." He couldn't think of a better way to spend the next year of his life. Based on the happy trill in her soul, Lucy felt the exact same way.

* * *

… **Y'know, I don't see a** _ **"The End"**_ **up there… Huh, I guess that means there's another chapter?**

 **Okay, you caught me. Goddamn right, there's one last chapter to this!**

 **Yes, you guys are totally getting an epilogue. I couldn't help myself! You'll have to wait until CoLu Week 2018 is finished though, because I don't need you guys falling behind on all the other stories you're reading! So, just like last year, give it at least a week before I post the next (and final) chapter to this story!**


	9. 2018 - Epilogue

**A/N: This is it, guys. This is really the end. No more tricks, no more CoLu Weeks to add more to this story. We've reached the final curtain on this story, and I couldn't be happier about the positive reaction this story has gotten over the past four years' worth of CoLu Weeks. You guys are amazing, and I love you. (I misspoke last chapter when I said it was three years.)**

 **I'd like to give super props to** _ **imurmisconception**_ **,** _ **MadSoullessQueen**_ **, and** _ **Paname**_ **for being wonderful sounding boards, and for reminding me of advice I'd given before to put on my crazy hot pants and just write. If it wasn't for you guys, I probably would have agonized over the ending of this for ages.**

* * *

 _ **2018 - Delirious**_

 _ **Epilogue**_

* * *

The days had passed in a flash for Crime Sorciere. Three days after Cobra woke up, Jellal went to a meeting of guild masters for the five largest guilds, with Mermaid Heel's guild master not in attendance because her funeral was later that afternoon. While Erza and Makarov attended for Fairy Tail, and knew just what Crime Sorciere was, none of the others did. So he explained it to them all. He told them of his guild's part in the efforts against Zeref, how they'd traveled to Caelum on a lead gleaned through Cobra's magic. He answered questions about why he'd formed a guild of former criminals, and then he'd asked them for a favor.

They'd been wary, but Jellal had powered through the unease in the decimated tavern they'd all agreed to meet in, and he'd asked for just one thing. For cooperation with his guild while they all worked to bring harmony to Fiore once again. He asked for each of the guild masters to inform their respective guilds of Crime Sorciere's presence, and to let them know that - regardless of the members' sordid pasts - they were still mages who were trying to do the right thing.

He had no illusions of being pardoned, or for the Rune Knights not to chase them. His guild would have to be careful, even while helping to rebuild towns and reunite families who'd been separated by the shift in the landscape. But if they could have tentative alliances with the legal guilds, then things would go more smoothly.

"While I don't see a problem with more help," Master Bob said carefully. His rouge lips turned down slightly while he took in Jellal's dented armor and torn cloak with the crest of Crime Sorciere proudly on display. "How can we be sure that your guild will hold their end of the bargain?"

"Since being released from prison, the former members of the Oracion Seis have been law-abiding citizens," Jellal said. That wasn't entirely true. Cobra was the biggest issue where law-breaking was concerned.

"I can vouch for this," Erza said. "They have turned over a new leaf."

"Agreed," Makarov said. He winced while adjusting his seat in his wheelchair, waving away Erza's instant concern over him. "While I was trying to reason with the Spriggans, the Crime Sorciere guild was there to keep an eye on me."

"These are the same people who terrorized the countryside and nearly ended the world," Goldmine said.

Ooba Babasaama nodded, her finger already spinning and ready to send Jellal whirling away from the group. "And weren't _you_ the one who built that Tower that nearly killed us all?"

"I am," Jellal said. He turned away from Erza when he saw that she was about to protest. She couldn't protect him from this, and it was high time that he answered directly to the people for the crimes he'd committed. "And they were. My guild doesn't believe that our past crimes will ever be erased. We know that no one will ever forget what we've done, and the pain that we've caused with our careless actions."

"Then why should we believe you now?" Bob asked.

"You have no reason to believe me. We're guilty of everything you've said and more. But…" Jellal raised his head and looked right into Bob's eyes, then to Goldmine and Ooba Babasaama. "There is one member of my guild who believes in us, against all odds. She believes when we say that we want to make this world into a better, safer place. When we question ourselves, when we begin to doubt that we'll make a difference, we can turn to her and be reminded of what forgiveness truly means. Because she knows firsthand, the pain we've caused, and she chooses to stay with us."

"As heartwarming as that may be," Goldmine sighed, "That doesn't change what's been done, Jellal. We're too tired and worn to fight against you, should you choose to take advantage of it."

"We would never do that," Jellal said. "All I want for my guild is to be given a chance to prove ourselves. Let us help you put things back together."

When the guild masters remained silent, he was positive that his words had fallen on deaf ears. He knew Fairy Tail was on their side, but the others…

"I'll vouch for Cobra." They all turned as one to the only person in attendance who'd remained so silent, he'd been forgotten about entirely. Sting Eucliffe grinned from where he slouched on a half-destroyed chair, but it wasn't nearly as bright as it had once been. It was a tired lift to his lips that was echoed in the bags under his eyes. "And I'll tell Sabertooth that Crime Sorciere is an ally."

"You may be too young to remember," Ooba Babasaama sighed. "What the Oracion Seis attempted to do would have destroyed us. Our guilds banded together to put them away in prison, Sting."

Sting's minimal smile faded and his brows lowered as he stared back at her. "I'm not too young to remember. I may not have been a guild master back then, but don't forget… Before Fairy Tail disappeared on Tenrou Island, I was the same age as Wendy."

That was something even Jellal hadn't considered. And as he looked at the others present, he saw them mulling it over.

"But what they've done in the past is nothing in comparison to what they've done for this country," Sting said. He stood and came to stand beside Jellal, clapping a hand on his cloaked shoulder. "They joined us in the fight against Zeref. And I saw Cobra fighting. I was _with him_ while he fought against Acnologia. We stood shoulder to shoulder, and he put his life on the line to bring that bastard down."

"It's not that we don't appreciate what was done," Bob said slowly.

"This is a very tenuous time for everyone," Goldmine added.

Jellal's jaw tightened and he bowed his head slightly while stepping away from Sting's grasp. "Thank you for your time, then," he said. "At the very least, let my guild finish resting here in peace. We'll leave once Cobra can be moved."

"Jellal," Erza said, standing from her seat. "Wait."

"There's no reason to wait, Erza," he said with a soft smile. "Their minds are made up." He nodded to Makarov, then to Sting who was still standing beside him, and turned to leave through the tattered cloth acting as a flimsy barrier between them and the destroyed city outside. He needed to check in with the guild and see how they were doing. Cobra's condition was his priority now. And after that, gathering supplies so they could move on and find another city in need of help.

Even if the guild masters wouldn't agree to a truce, to not pursue them if they were found, that didn't mean Jellal would stop trying to atone for his own sins. He would continue leading his guild in the right direction, maintaining their goal no matter what. They didn't need the approval of any other guild or even the Magic Council to do what was right. He knew they were doing the right thing. And with Zeref gone for good, the amount of dark guilds in the area would either diminish, or grow even faster than before.

There were always people looking for some sort of savior. And some stupidly believed that Zeref was that savior. He was sure people would continue believing it, even after the pain and suffering caused by this war.

Before Jellal could take two steps away from the other guild masters, the cloth over the door was ripped away, and a lone figure stumbled inside on a direct path to the gathered mages. His footsteps were heavy and uneven, but there was no solid sound of boots on warped wood. Just the slap of bare, dust-covered feet as he ambled closer to them.

"That's a load of horseshit, and you fucking know it." Cobra groaned when he stumbled again and Jellal caught him. His arm stayed wrapped around his bare stomach - missing the bandages that should have been there because he'd snuck out while Lucy went in search of clean ones for him. Cobra pushed away from Jellal and forced himself to stand on his own. "You're all a bunch of fucking pussies."

"Excuse me?" Bob gasped.

"Cobra," Erza said with a scowl. "You shouldn't be moving around. Wendy-"

"Wendy can suck it the fuck up!" he shouted, doubling over a moment later when pain shot through his stomach and radiated down to his thighs. He very nearly vomited from the pain, but he breathed through it as best as he could. Even with his hands on his trembling knees, he forced himself to look at the shocked faces around him.

He couldn't stop himself from hearing their souls, even from the makeshift infirmary nearly a block away. And when he'd heard what was happening, how Jellal was fucking this whole thing up, he couldn't just sit there and let it happen.

"You don't like us, fine," Cobra growled from between tightly clenched teeth. "You think we're a bunch of fucking monsters and murderers, we are. But don't sit there and spin it like you're doing this for the good of mankind or some other bullshit!"

"Cobra, stop," Jellal said softly. "You need to relax." He and Sting came closer to try and help Cobra before he could fall over, only to stop dead in their tracks when he stood and pulled his bloody hand away from his stomach.

"You want a pound of flesh from us, then take it," Cobra spat. He couldn't find it in himself to smile at the sickened waves washing through their souls as they watched blood seep from his stitched wounds. "I gave that fight everything I fucking had for ungrateful pieces of shit like you. To come back to a place that wants me and my guild dead."

"No one ever said we want you dead," Makarov said gently. "Child, you really should lie down."

"What's the fucking point?" Cobra roared. "Nothing we do will be good enough for you. No amount of tiptoeing around and playing the fucking good guy will make you assholes see that we're not the real fucking monsters here! The real monster was Zeref. And that piece of shit Acnologia who tore my ass to pieces! But that's not good enough for you? What more do you want from-"

"Erik, what the hell?!"

Everyone watched Cobra's shoulders slump and his head drop back in defeat. The shift in him was so sudden, they weren't sure what was about to happen. Well, no one except Jellal knew. He'd seen this play out enough times to know that Cobra was giving up instead of trying to fight with Lucy. Maybe he was just too tired to argue with her.

Lucy stormed into the center of the tavern with her own cloak billowing behind her, and her worn leather boots cracking so loudly on the floor that Jellal was sure the wood was going to snap. She didn't look at anyone else, only at Cobra, who merely tilted his head in her direction.

"I leave you alone for five minutes, and you leave the infirmary to go galavanting around a fucking warzone?"

"War's over," he sighed. "I'm just trying to make them understand that we're not like we used to be."

"Jellal said he was going to handle it," she said. "So leave it to him."

"He was fucking it up."

She stopped in front of him, glaring up at his chin before turning her attention to his stomach. Lucy's eyes widened, then narrowed even further than before. She didn't say a word, and instead reached forward and flicked him in the stomach. The way he howled and doubled over, clutching at his stitches, startled the other guild masters. Jellal simply sighed and took a small step back.

"Oh my," Bob gasped. "What in the world is going on?"

"Wendy told you to rest," she hissed, glaring down at him. "And you're out here, undoing all the work she put into reconstructing your organs, to do what?"

"Fuck you," he groaned. "Asshole…"

"If you throw up more poison on me, I'm not gonna be happy."

"Then don't fucking hit me!"

"Then don't get off that cot unless you're told!" Lucy screeched. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

Cobra's head shot up and he glared at her. "Are you fucking kid…" He trailed off after that, and everyone present watched as his anger melted away until all that was left was a pinch between his brows as he stared up at her. Cobra's head tilted just slightly and Jellal turned his attention toward Lucy.

The first of her tears slid down her cheek as she crossed her arms under her chest. With her face shadowed by her hair, the others couldn't see it. But he could.

After having her with the guild for the past year, he'd come to understand Lucy fairly well. And ever since she'd gotten hurt in Caelum, everyone had been able to see a different side of Cobra when it came to her. He'd long since grown accustomed to the silent conversations they had with one another. He wasn't sure if Cobra was actually talking to her in some way, or if he was simply reacting to her thoughts in a way that only she understood.

But Jellal had a feeling that these tears of hers were a direct result of Cobra having disappeared when she was trying to care for him. And the fact that he'd ignored his own injuries, possibly setting back his recovery by weeks, all so he could rip into the guild masters in this room.

"Uh," Sting muttered. Before he could say anything else, Jellal stepped over to him and put a staying hand on his arm.

When Sting looked at him instead, Jellal smiled and said, "This happens all the time."

Finally, Cobra stood. It was slow, and he mostly held back a quiet, pained groan. But once he was upright, he wrapped an arm around his stomach and the other around Lucy's shoulders. "I'll go back now," he said to her. "Make sure I don't keel over in the street?"

Lucy simply nodded and curled into his side, letting him use her for support while they walked out of the tavern. Jellal knew that everyone was staring at the scars littering Cobra's back. It was only from being around the Poison Slayer so often that he didn't react to them in the slightest any longer.

Once they were gone, Sting turned his attention back to Jellal. "Wait, was that Lucy? Like, _Natsu and Lucy_ , Lucy?"

"Yes," he chuckled. "She joined the guild after Fairy Tail was disbanded." He looked over at the stunned guild masters, then toward Makarov who had happy tears in his eyes. Erza was smiling where she stood beside the small Fairy Tail mage. "I would say that we've taken good care of her while she's been with us, but…"

"She seems to be taking care of you," Makarov said softly. "She's always been such a kind child."

Jellal's head lowered and he smiled down at the floor. He missed the way Bob's eyes softened, and how he nudged Goldmine in the side. "She does, Master Makarov. Lucy's brought all of us closer together. Cobra even stopped poisoning my food every morning."

"He only does it every couple months now," Erza interjected, causing the older mages to laugh quietly to themselves.

Jellal sighed and shook his head. "We're lucky to have her," he said. Mostly because there was now someone in the guild who could get Cobra to actually listen to reason when he would otherwise go on a killing spree. Meredy had been the one to spread the ongoing joke of her being the _Dragon Whisperer_ , and everyone in the guild had latched onto it.

It was even funnier when Cobra got angry over it, only for Lucy to start massaging just behind his ears. It shut him up in an instant.

"Your guild sounds about as dysfunctional as we were," Bob giggled. "Oh, Makarov, don't you remember that?"

"I remember how much damage you caused," Makarov laughed.

"Oh, please," Bob tittered. "Goldmine was ten times worse than I was, and when you put him and Rob together…"

"Anarchy," Goldmine chuckled, shaking his head. "But we had Porlyusica there to patch us up."

"And Makarov to take the fall," Bob said. He turned back to Jellal, his smile much more genuine. "Tell me something, and tell me honestly."

Jellal nodded, waiting for the question that he felt would decide the fate of his guild in the coming months.

"If there was one thing you could change from your past, what would it be?" Bob asked, crossing one hairy leg over the other. Now that was something that Jellal could answer easily. He'd given it a lot of thought over the years while trying to come to terms with his own guilt.

"Absolutely nothing," he said, smiling at the curious looks he received. "The man I am today only exists because of those experiences. I know what pain and heartbreak feel like, having felt it myself and having been the cause of it for so many others. There are people alive today because of my presence, even if it was only for a short time."

He was not going to look at Erza, even though he could tell she was trying not to smile at him.

"The former Oracion Seis members wouldn't have suffered any less in the Tower of Heaven if I hadn't been there," he continued. "And while I have made a great number of mistakes in my lifetime, and I've hurt so many people with my choices, I'm capable of righting those wrongs now because of what I've endured. I can make a difference and stop someone else from following the path I took, because I know where it leads."

Bob looked at Goldmine, then over to Ooba - who'd fallen asleep at some point and was quietly snoring away on her chair, her finger still spinning in a circle. He smiled and uncrossed his legs more gracefully than Jellal would have imagined possible for a man of his stature. "It looks like we've come to an agreement," Bob said. "Blue Pegasus is now an ally of Crime Sorciere."

"Quatro Cerberus as well," Goldmine said.

"Let's just assume Ooba also agreed," Makarov chuckled.

"You have the support of Fairy Tail," Erza said with a proud grin.

"And Sabertooth," Sting chimed in.

Jellal bowed low to all of them, hiding his smile as best as he could. "My guild and I thank you," he said softly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to make sure my Dragon Slayer hasn't died."

"Oh, he should be fine," Bob giggled. "A delicious man like him? Those injuries won't keep him down for long."

"I doubt it's the injuries he's worried about," Erza said, smirking. "But Lucy will handle him. If she's going to marry him, she should learn how to do it now."

"They're getting married?!" the men in the room, except for Jellal, shouted in unison. Ooba Babasaama shrieked and used her Spinning magic, sending the entire gathering whirling out of the open doorway of the tavern and into the war-torn street.

* * *

Crime Sorciere left their most recent encampment in the newly rediscovered Stone Forest that now surrounded the Mercurius Palace, instead of Sun Village as it once had. They'd been summoned to the palace by a royal messenger, with no explanation whatsoever as to what the reason was for their requested presence.

Jellal had been utterly baffled by the scroll that had been given to him. Even more confusing was the added message from the man who'd dropped it off.

" _Be sure to clean yourselves up before meeting with her majesty."_

Well, it wasn't as though they had much opportunity for getting a warm shower and washing their clothes in anything that wasn't a river. But then Angel had reminded them that Lucy's spirit, Virgo, might be over the moon with the prospect of doing those chores.

The spirit in question had opened her own gate and scared the living daylights out of Lucy - much to everyone else's amusement - only to offer her services in person. Washing and mending their clothes and armor was at the top of her list. After that, she also wanted to get them some new clothing made for their meeting with Queen Hisui. And Lucy, who really wanted to say that she didn't have to do all that, saw the look on Virgo's face when she offered. She saw the hopeful gleam in her normally vacant blue eyes.

She hadn't been able to say no. Besides, she already denied the spirit punishment every time she asked for it - which, Cobra had still conveniently "forgotten" to tell Lucy that Virgo actually liked being denied - so letting Virgo do some chores if she _really_ wanted to was a concession Lucy was willing to make.

"We're getting arrested," Angel sighed, looking down at the feathered dress Virgo had made for her as they walked through the forest. "At least we'll look good while doing it."

"Better than the other two times," Racer chuckled.

Midnight nodded. "At least my makeup isn't messed up this time. And I'm not crying… That's a plus."

"Why were you crying when you were arrested?" Meredy giggled.

He gave her a lazy smirk, not noticing how her cheeks flushed a gentle pink when their eyes locked. "A certain _someone_ used the Infinity Clock against me," he said. "I was stuck in a nightmare, and bawling my eyes out."

"It was pretty disgusting to look at," Cobra chuckled.

Lucy frowned up at him - which he ignored - then turned toward Midnight. "You know, I am sorry about that," she said. "I'm glad you're okay now."

Midnight simply waved away her concerns as he yawned and stepped over a stone flower. "It was self defense. I was trying to sacrifice you. You turned it around on me. We're even." He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She still looked upset though. It had happened so long ago, and they'd been through so much since then, he didn't hold it against her. Especially not after seeing the way she'd taken care of Cobra, who was _the_ most childish brat when he was hurt.

"One, no I'm not," Cobra spat. "I was incapacitated, and literally couldn't do shit without her yelling at me."

"Oh, she babied you, and you know it," Midnight chuckled.

"It's not like I asked her to do it."

"But you didn't stop her either," Angel snickered. "It was precious."

"Shut up, Featherduster," Cobra huffed, then set his attention on Midnight once again. "And two…" His lips turned down slightly, and he looked to Lucy instead while wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Don't feel bad about it, Belle. He didn't ever really hate you for that shit in the first place."

"No, I hated my makeup for running," Midnight said. "I looked like a mime that got gangbanged by a hoard of giant, muscled prostitutes."

"Oh my god," Lucy laughed. In an instant everyone else joined in, and Midnight just shook his head while slowing in his steps. They all looked ahead of them and found a whole garrison of knights standing guard in front of the palace.

Jellal took the lead position, and Cobra removed his arm from around Lucy's shoulders before taking a wide step away from her. She simply rolled her eyes over it, but didn't argue when they started walking forward once more. Jellal paused when an officer came forward to meet them, then handed him the message they'd been given telling them to appear before the Queen.

When they'd gotten it, there had been no question in Jellal's mind, just what was going to happen. They were going to be arrested again, regardless of whether or not this seemed to be an olive branch from the monarchy. They all knew better.

Still, on the off chance that it wasn't to arrest them, Jellal had insisted they go to see the Queen. They were trying to be law-abiding citizens, and they didn't have anything to hide. Since the war with Alvarez a year prior, they'd done everything in their power to help the citizens of Fiore to rebuild and get their lives back together. Crime Sorciere had put everything else on hold to help others, and the only time they hadn't stopped to help someone was when Cobra heard a whisper in someone's soul about a dark guild trying to recruit members.

That had them traipsing all over the country - trying not to get lost - to stop those guilds before they could really get started.

It was more than surprising for them not to be handcuffed first as the knight in front of the palace garrison looked over the paper, then at each of them. Instead, he motioned for the knights to move and allow them to enter the palace, unhindered and with full use of their magic.

That was how the eight mages making up the small guild of former criminals (and one who wasn't) found themselves kneeling in the throne room of Mercurius. Kneeling before the newly appointed Queen of Fiore, Hisui, with Arcadios glaring down at them from just behind her.

"The independent mage guild, Crime Sorciere, my Queen," a nearby squire said. They listened to his quick tapping footsteps as he rushed away from the gathering. No one spoke until the heavy doors had been slammed shut.

Hisui looked down at the mages kneeling before her. "Jellal Fernandes," she said, and his head lifted slowly for him to meet her gaze. "Leader of Crime Sorciere, former Council member and Wizard Saint under the name Siegrain. The perpetrator behind the R System's completion in X784. An owner of slaves and a murderer."

Jellal winced and lowered his head again.

Hisui looked at the two men kneeling just behind him. "Midnight of the Oracion Seis, and Brain II of the Neo-Oracion Seis. The mastermind behind the Infinity Clock, and guilty of orchestrating the murder of nearly every Celestial mage in Fiore."

Midnight's shoulders raised just slightly as he tried to shy away from her without moving all that much.

"Meredy of Grimoire Heart," Hisui said, skipping past Cobra and looking at the row of kneeling mages behind him and Midnight. "The second guild of the Balam Alliance. A murderer and thief since the age of seven. Racer, Angel, and Hoteye of the Oracion Seis…"

She looked down at the head of familiar blonde hair, then back to Jellal. "You've gathered quite the group here, Jellal."

"I have, my Queen," he said softly, keeping his head bowed.

"If the last part of the Balam Alliance hadn't been demons, how many of them would you have recruited into your ranks?"

Jellal fought not to look at her. "Whoever sought redemption and atonement for their sins," he said instead.

"And is that what you believe your guild of criminals has done?" she asked. "You wander around in my country, free from persecution of your crimes. Weren't you the one to break the Oracion Seis out of prison?"

"No, my Queen," he said. "I took them in after the prison was destroyed by Jackal of Tartaros. They were saved by someone else."

"And were their lives worth saving?"

"All lives are worth saving," he said.

"Even the life of someone who murders anyone they come across?" she asked, her gaze finally falling on Cobra. "Is someone like Cobra of the Oracion Seis really worth saving? He doesn't just murder people. He mutilates them, disembowels them, then sets their corpses up as macabre displays for all to see. He burns churches to the ground with women and priests locked inside. While Midnight was the one who planned the deaths of those Celestial mages, Cobra is reported to have been at the heart of the actual murders. Is someone who tortures innocent children truly worth keeping in this world?"

Jellal raised his head then, his hands tightening into fists where they were pressed to the cool marble floor. " _All_ lives are worth saving," he said. "Cobra has vowed to spend his life atoning for the mistakes of the past, and I won't turn someone away when they want to become a better person."

Cobra smirked only a moment before Hisui did the same. She watched as Jellal's deep brown eyes flickered with determination until it roared across his features. How dedicated, he was. "It has come to my attention that you've been travelling from one side of the country to the other. What have you been doing?"

"Helping the people," Jellal said. "The war affected everyone, and we don't take payments for our work like legal guilds do. So those who can't pay for a job request can count on us."

"What sorts of payment do you take?" she asked.

"None," Jellal said. "We help them with no charge to them."

"I see…" Her eyes narrowed slightly before she raised her hand. The guild mages tensed, even as Arcadios came forward and placed a small stack of papers in her gloved hand. "Do you know what these are?"

Jellal didn't need to shake his head. There was no way for him to know what those papers were.

A hidden door behind her throne opened, and three knights came marching out with large stacks of scrolls and sheaves of bound envelopes hefted in their arms. They came to stand on either side of the throne, but stayed silent.

"And how about these?" Hisui asked. "Are you aware of what these are?"

"No, your majesty," Jellal said carefully. His gaze honed in on her other hand when she lifted a single envelope.

"And this one?"

"No, your majesty."

"These letters have been pouring in for months," she said. "Each of them talks about assistance they received from mages who wouldn't give anyone their names. A man with one eye who waded through a marsh for two days, rescuing a four year old girl. A woman dressed like a bird who brought angels from the sky to reassemble an entire building. A man running so quickly that the only evidence he'd been there were footprints on the road and the buckets of water being thrown on a fire."

Jellal's brows drew together in confusion once again. He remembered those things that they'd done, but for the most part, no one had been around for them. A few townspeople here and there, but that was it.

Hisui set her papers in her lap and picked up the top page, then turned it toward them. A poorly drawn image of a person with long black hair, a white face, and black lips covered the paper. Surrounding the person was a bright red heart. She read the back of the page to them. "It says, 'Thank you for helping me sleep because Mommy's dead.' Charming."

She tossed the page on the ground, watching as it fluttered down the steps and slid across the marble toward Midnight. With his head still bowed, he simply stared at it. He remembered that little girl. She'd been having nightmares so intensely from her mother's death that Cobra had been able to hear her soul screaming in terror halfway across the country. It took them two months to make their way to her - stopping along the way as they'd been needed. When they'd finally reached the girl, Midnight had found a frail, malnourished little thing whose grandmother hadn't known how to care for her anymore. She'd refused to eat or sleep, and when her little body couldn't stay awake any longer, she was caught in memories of her mother dying right before her eyes. Frozen to the core and shattered by Invel's chilling fight against Gray.

It had taken him three days and nights to figure out a way to help her sleep peacefully. Midnight had never told her his name. He'd only said that he was there to help.

"This one says, 'Thank you for taking away the snakes.'" Hisui tossed another page on the floor, showing a drawing of some person with pointed ears and a scarred eye wrapped up in snakes, and smiling. "And this one. 'Dark guilds ate my brother, but you killed them good. Thanks.'" She gestured to the knights who were still holding large stacks of papers. "It's not hard to figure it out. Between the reports we're getting from Rune Knights about attempts at creating dark guilds being thwarted before they even begin, and the amount of men and women who are tied up and waiting outside the jail for them… and then these letters… It must be quite the group of mages they're talking about."

Jellal said nothing, even though he could feel Angel and Meredy glaring at his back. They probably wanted him to take credit for what they'd done, but he couldn't. They were just doing the right thing. They didn't need recognition for it. Hell, it was a miracle that the legal guilds all agreed to not pursue them - after he'd gotten Fairy Tail and the other four on their side, of course.

"But if that wasn't enough," Hisui sighed. She held up the single envelope again, then opened the flap and pulled out a letter consisting of several pages. "I received this two weeks ago, sent from Blue Pegasus. It seems at the last guildmaster's meeting that was held, they came to some sort of agreement."

The mages of Crime Sorciere watched as Arcadios took the letter when Hisui held it out to him. He walked down the steps, his armor shifting loudly in the otherwise silent room, and stopped in front of Jellal. "Read it," he said.

Jellal took the letter carefully, looking from Arcadios to the Queen, then finally down to the pages in his hands.

 _We, the guild masters of all forty six legal guilds in Fiore in the year of X793, do hereby make a formal request to the Queen of Fiore, Hisui E. Fiore (hereafter referred to as "the Monarchy") that former Councilman and Wizard Saint Jellal Fernandes, Meredy of Grimoire Heart, and Midnight, Cobra, Angel, Racer, and Hoteye of the Oracion Seis and Neo-Oracion Seis (hereafter referred to as members of the independent guild of "Crime Sorciere") be pardoned of all past charges against them._

Jellal's jaw dropped and his hands shook as he continued reading the contents of the letter. A short list of their past crimes, their most notable and despicable offenses. The bulk of the pages, however, were filled with the things his guild had accomplished while working in tandem with the legal guilds. The people they'd helped. There was even a story from Sting about how Rogue had gone to deal with a dark guild, only to find them already apprehended.

And there, at the very bottom of the final page, were forty-six signatures with their respective guild names. The first five guilds had him smiling silently to himself. He knew for a fact they were the ones behind this.

 _Erza Scarlet - Fairy Tail  
Goldmine - Quatro Cerberus  
Bob - Blue Pegasus  
Ooba Babasaama - Lamia Scale  
Sting Eucliffe - Sabertooth_

Finally, he looked up at the Queen, only after forcing himself not to show how much he appreciated the wasted efforts of their allies. Nothing would come of this.

"Ah, silly me," Hisui laughed. She pulled another letter from a hidden pocket in her skirt. "I also received this letter from an old friend of mine, telling me all about what your guild did in the war last year. I was unaware of your part in that."

"We only did what was right, your majesty," he said. Jellal handed the letter back to Arcadios, then bowed his head again. Was this why they'd been summoned? For the queen to tell them… what, exactly?

"Well, considering the opinion of the people I rule is a large part of my job," Hisui said. "And there seems to be an overwhelming amount of support and love for a group of mages who have all tried to end the world in one way or another. Somehow, you've won the people over."

Jellal hadn't meant to win over anyone. He knew the others felt the same way. They weren't trying to make people like them. All they'd been doing was what was right. Helping people in need, instead of taking advantage of them. Using their magic for good, instead of evil.

"Now, it's come to my attention that there were some details a great many people hadn't known about, considering your guild's creation. I'd like for you to explain that to me."

"Of course, your majesty," Jellal said. "I founded the guild with Meredy and Ultear Milkovich after Grimoire Heart was defeated by Fairy Tail on Tenrou Island. We'd realized the error of our ways, and wanted to atone for our sins as best as we could."

"Where did you all come from?"

As one, the mages of Crime Sorciere lifted their heads to find her watching them with an inscrutable expression. Her eyes were cold, her face a blank mask. Cobra was the first to speak, surprising everyone.

"I was born in the Tower of Heaven," he said. "A guard raped one of the slaves, and she gave birth to me there. She named me Erik. I was a slave there until Brain took me away and made me Cobra of the Oracion Seis."

Hisui nodded, then turned her attention to Midnight, who took his cue from Cobra's own honest answer. "My village was raided by a cult when I was four," Midnight said. "They took me to the Tower of Heaven and enslaved me. Brain took me in and made me believe that he was my long lost father, so I joined the Oracion Seis."

"And what was your name before you became Midnight?"

"... Macbeth," he said.

Racer shifted uncomfortably under her stare. "I was running from my house when dark mages burned it to the ground. They caught me and I was taken to the Tower of Heaven. Brain picked me to be part of the Oracion Seis… My name was Sawyer."

"How old were you when you were captured?" she asked.

"I was five."

Angel lowered her gaze to the floor when Hisui's attention shifted to her. "My name was Sorano," she said. "I protected my younger sister when they came to our village. I hid her in a barrel of fish. I was taken to the Tower of Heaven when I was four. Brain came for me when I was six, I think. He made me Angel of the Oracion Seis."

"And you, Hoteye?"

He smiled sadly up at the Queen. "My brother and I were taken to the Tower together. My name was Richard. Brain separated me from my brother, and made me into Hoteye of the Oracion Seis.

"And you, Meredy?" Hisui asked.

"I wasn't in the Tower of Heaven," she said softly. "Grimoire Heart destroyed my village when I was six. Ultear Milkovich found me and took pity on me. She took me in as her own child, and raised me in Grimoire Heart."

Hisui ignored Lucy and turned back to Jellal. "And you, Jellal. What's your story?"

His brows drew together, but he still answered her. "I have no memory of where I came from. One day, I woke up in the Tower of Heaven as a slave. When they tortured me, I thought I'd been possessed by Zeref, and took control of the Tower at the age of eight. I sold five children to Brain for him to create the Oracion Seis. My persona as Siegrain was..." He shook his head and looked away from her again.

Hisui looked down at the letter she still held in her hand, and finally she smiled. "Jellal, Macbeth, Erik, Sawyer, Sorano, Richard, and Meredy…" She looked into each of their eyes, and her smile widened. "As the Queen of Fiore, I grant each of you a full pardon for your past crimes."

"P-Pardoned?" Midnight gasped.

"What now?" Meredy whispered.

Racer shook his head, his eyes widening. "Our crimes have been… forgiven?"

"Indeed!" Hoteye laughed.

Angel's head shot up and her jaw dropped. "But we… we were a dark guild!"

"I've heard the particulars," Hisui said. "And I'm familiar with the past, as well. Moreso now than when I'd made the decision to pardon you all. You were all forced to shoulder heavy sins. This monarchy failed you and the other slaves of the Tower of Heaven. For some of you, that was the only life you'd known. And despite that, probably more than anyone else, your hearts always looked to tomorrow. So, I will ask that, from now on and for the sake of the people who look up to you, you try to live on. Never forget where you've been, but don't let it hang over your heads any longer."

"Live on," Jellal whispered to himself. His head dropped and his hair shadowed his eyes from everyone around him. No one missed the way his shoulders began to shudder, or how his hands clenched into fists where they rested on the floor. Cobra was the only one who could smell his tears well before they dripped onto the cool marble beneath him.

"Rise, Crime Sorciere," Hisui said. "From this day forward, you are all free." She watched as the seven former criminals stood, still unsure of themselves. But as they looked at one another, she could see it. There was the smallest shift in how they held themselves. A weight had been lifted from their shoulders, and even though Midnight was still stunned and Meredy was on the verge of crying, Hisui could see how happy they were.

Midnight was the first to smile. He turned toward Meredy, saw the tears in her eyes, and pulled her into a hug just before the first sob broke past her lips. "We're free," he whispered into her hair. "N-No more running."

"Macbeth," she whimpered. Her arms wrapped around his waist tightly, letting her feel the silent hiccup as he held back his emotions. "It's okay to cry… Y-You can fix your makeup later."

Racer and Hoteye crushed Angel in a tight hug between them.

Hisui finally stood, watching as the small guild worked through their emotions. The only ones who didn't seem surprised in the slightest were Cobra… and Lucy. Hisui maintained her composure and came to a stop in front of Jellal. She took his hands in hers, waiting for him to meet her gaze. And when he did look at her, she couldn't stop herself from swiping her thumbs over his tear-stained cheeks. "Erza has vouched for you," she whispered to him. "As the guild master for Fairy Tail, I hold her opinion in very high regard. But there is one more person who helped to convince me."

"Who?" he asked. "Who do I have to thank for this?"

She gently patted his cheek, then turned away from him toward Lucy. "My friend," she said. Jellal's eyes widened as he watched the Queen walk toward Lucy, then wrap the blonde in a hug that was returned easily. "I've missed you, Lucy!"

"Aw, I've missed you too, Hisui," Lucy giggled. They drew back and grinned at each other. "Thank you for this."

Angel peeked out from between Racer and Hoteye's crushing embrace. "Wait, _you're_ the friend who wrote to her?!"

Hisui laughed when everyone stared at them. "I'm guessing Lucy didn't tell you?"

"No," Jellal said. "We didn't know she was friends with the Queen."

"Well, she was just the princess when I wrote the letter," Lucy said sheepishly.

Hisui nodded, patting her skirt where she'd tucked the final letter. "She wrote to me just after the war, and explained everything. How she wasn't in Fairy Tail anymore, but a guild called Crime Sorciere. How it was a guild of reformed criminals who took out dark guilds. She didn't say who you were, but she did tell me that you were the ones to track down Zeref and gave us intel for the war."

"It was mostly to catch up," Lucy said, scratching the back of her neck as her guildmates stared at her in shock. "But then I figured I could find out if there was any way to give you guys a fresh start."

"You have more than proven your loyalty to Fiore," Hisui said. "It only seemed right."

"And I'm sure the fanmail and that letter from the legal guilds was some solid evidence in our favor," Meredy said.

"Plus, now you don't owe me any favors," Lucy giggled, nudging the Queen.

"Favors?" Midnight asked. Everyone ignored how his mascara had started running down his cheeks, and the smudges on the back of his hand from when he'd wiped at his own teary eyes.

Hisui winced, but Cobra stepped in. "Water under the bridge," he said. "No need to get into it." He ignored her thankful nod and the way her soul thrummed with relief.

"Oh!" Lucy said, taking a step back from Hisui. She turned toward Cobra and, ignoring his very clear signs of having a personal bubble that he didn't want invaded, reached into the inner pocket of his coat for a small envelope. She turned back and grinned while handing it to Hisui. "I wanted to give this to you."

Hisui opened the envelope and quickly read the contents, her eyes widening in shock. Maybe a little horror. Definitely shock, though.

"The wedding's in a month," Lucy said. "The past year's been crazy busy, but it's starting to calm down now. Think you'd be able to come? It's not gonna be a big thing, but-"

Hisui squealed at such a high pitch, and so loudly, that Cobra had to cover his ears. "Yes!" she shrieked. "Oh, I'll definitely come to your wedding!"

"Is anyone else a little freaked out by this?" Angel whispered.

"You mean that Lucy just invited the queen to her wedding like it's no big deal?" Racer mumbled.

"Or that she accepted?" Hoteye added.

"Either?" Angel said. "Both? I dunno…"

Hisui looked down at the invitation again. "Who are you marry-" She nearly dropped the invitation while going utterly still. Her gaze shot from the grinning Celestial mage in front of her, over to Cobra - who was still holding his hands over his ears - then back to the invitation. "Really?" she asked, staring at Cobra again.

He lowered his hands and glared at Lucy, who nodded. "Really," she giggled.

"This isn't a joke?" Hisui asked.

"How is she the only one who's asked whether it's a joke?" Midnight muttered, pulling a quiet laugh from Meredy.

"Not a joke," Lucy said.

Cobra blinked slowly when Hisui continued staring at him. "It's really not a joke," he said. "We're getting married." Again. Honestly, with how long they'd waited, he was surprised that Lucy had still wanted to have the ceremony. They'd already been legally married for almost a year. It was a little pointless in his opinion, but it was what Lucy wanted. He'd agreed to it for her sake. And to keep Erza from killing him, like she'd promised to do, if she wasn't there for a second ceremony after Jellal's loose fucking post-coital mouth had spilled the beans three months prior.

Hisui's jade eyes drank him in from the tips of his wild maroon hair to the scar over his eye, his rich coffee-colored skin, thin hips… All the way down to his boots. Finally, Hisui turned back to Lucy and squealed even louder than before as she lunged for the blonde. Lucy lost her footing when Hisui connected, and they tumbled to the floor. "Bad boy elf kink!" Hisui cackled. "He's so cute!"

"Isn't he?!" Lucy laughed.

Cobra huffed and crossed his arms, turning away from his laughing, blushing wife who was being crushed by the Queen. "Oh, fuck off," he grumbled. All of Crime Sorciere laughed when they looked at Cobra and found his pointed ears turning a bright shade of red.

Meredy giggled and nudged Midnight in the side. "How did we never realize that Cobra's a total _tsundere_?"

"Oh, that's it!" Cobra snarled. He lunged for Midnight and tackled him to the floor.

"It wasn't me!" Midnight yelped. It was pointless though. Cobra wouldn't hit Meredy, regardless of what she said.

"Close enough, bitch tits!"

* * *

The wedding ceremony took place in an orchard that autumn with orange and yellow and red leaves littering the ground around Cobra and Lucy as they held each other's hands and listened to Makarov officiate. Jellal acted as Cobra's best man, but only because he quite literally hadn't cared who took on the position. Erza stood across from Jellal, her cheeks a gentle pink when she imagined marrying him in a place like this.

Crime Sorciere and the old Team Natsu were in attendance, as well as Hisui and Arcadios as her guard.

It was everything that Lucy had wanted for her wedding. A small, intimate gathering with the people who mattered the most. Natsu and Gray even behaved themselves, but she noticed that they seemed much less hostile with one another. She didn't have all the pomp and circumstance that Mira Jane probably would have forced on her if she'd had a wedding anywhere near Fairy Tail.

There was no fancy dress for her, or a tuxedo for Cobra. Instead, they wore their normal clothes, and made sure that no one felt like they needed to dress up for the occasion. It wasn't about that. This was about Lucy and Cobra tying the knot and being with each other forever. A million Jewel dress and doves and pretty pink bows on rows of pews in Kardia Cathedral wouldn't change that.

"Now, children," Makarov said. "Please say your vows and exchange rings."

Cobra took Lucy's ring from Jellal, and Lucy took a ring from Erza. She gazed down at the black metal, smiling when she saw the little skulls that had been molded around the band. Cobra had been the one to choose the rings, after all. And this was definitely something that she could see him choosing. Honestly, she loved the way it looked. She reached out for his hand and slid the ring on his finger.

Cobra took her hand in his and brought her knuckles to his lips for a tender kiss. He slid the ring on and kissed her knuckles again while he grinned down at the matching black band with little skulls and a small ruby in the center. It was perfect for her. "Do you remember how you proposed to me?" he asked.

Lucy's cheeks tinted a gentle pink and she nodded.

"You mean the world to me, Lucy," he said, pulling those words she'd spoken to him in an alley before that ridiculous Fairy Tale ball from her soul. God, had it really been two years since that night? "This crazy whirlwind romance we've found ourselves in has me so utterly enraptured with you. I don't think you realize just how deep for you my feelings truly run, but I'd love to spend the rest of our lives showing you, in every imaginable way, that my love for you is fathomless. I could use any number of cliché lines for this, but I know what you want to hear me say."

Lucy gripped his hands a little more tightly and smiled up at him. "I'll never let you forget just what it feels like to be loved," she said. She remembered so clearly, how shocked he'd been to hear her saying this when they hadn't known each other. "To feel me wrapped around you while I'm screaming your name every night. How my lips feel while I'm worshipping every inch of your body, because you're a man who's more than deserving of my affection."

"My heart and soul sings just for you with every breath I take, just as yours does for me," he said.

"I want to be the harmony to your soul's melody forever." She paused and lifted a hand to his cheek, lightly brushing her thumb over the bottom portion of his scar, just as she'd done that night. "Erik, would you do me the honor of becoming my husband?"

"Yeah," he chuckled. "I can do that." Before Makarov could continue, he added, "I just want you to know, you do deserve all the bells and whistles for our wedding."

"I don't need them," she said.

Cobra just smirked and hooked a finger under her chin, forcing her to look above them. Hanging on the branches that arched over their heads were small bundles of bells that tinkled lightly in the breeze and several small whistles. And just as he'd hoped, Lucy laughed. She laughed so hard that she ended up bent in half, holding her sides as tears gathered on her lashes.

By the time she'd calmed down, everyone gathered was left smiling, even though they didn't really get the joke. "I can't wait to have your babies" she said, wiping her eyes.

What no one had expected was for Cobra's expression to shift into something bordering on shy as he smiled at the ground. Even more surprising was the way he blushed, though he would never admit that it was because he was over the moon about her admitting she wanted to have a family with him, where others could hear.

Even after being married for a year, he was still baffled by her continued presence in his life. Every day he'd woken up with her by his side while he'd been healing after the war, he'd wondered how he'd been so lucky. How could he have someone like her, someone so good and kind and caring, when he was nothing like her?

How the hell could she still find it in herself to love him, even after a year of being his wife? Not much had changed for them after they'd gotten married. It was almost exactly like when they'd just been engaged.

But she'd stayed with him. She handled his quirks and well-hidden insecurities like a fucking champ. When he'd proposed to her, he'd told the truth. She was the only woman he'd ever love, simply because she never tried to change him. He loved everything about her. Even how cold her toes got at night when they curled up together in their tent.

Lucy deserved the world and then some. And even though she couldn't hear it, he swore in his soul - right there in front of everyone they knew that actually fucking mattered, at least a little - that he'd spend the rest of their lives making her the happiest woman to have ever existed.

"Those two are too precious for words," Meredy sighed. She leaned her head on Macbeth's shoulder as Makarov continued with the final portion of the ceremony. Only Cobra was aware of Macbeth's running commentary about how good Meredy's hair smelled.

* * *

The pregnancy hadn't been planned in the slightest, but neither Lucy nor Cobra complained about it. They hadn't exactly ever practiced safe sex with one another to begin with, so it was bound to happen eventually. They'd been married for three years by the time she found out she was pregnant. And unlike most would have thought, Cobra wasn't the first to know. There hadn't been a change in Lucy's scent that he could detect. He hadn't heard their baby's soul trilling along with Lucy's.

Nothing had changed, except for her period being late. But even that wasn't much cause for concern for either of them. Lucy had never really had a regular period - and she was thankful that he'd actually been more turned on when she'd started her period once while he was eating her out - so having one a week or even two weeks later than it was supposed to be, wasn't out of the ordinary.

Lucy still had her period while she was pregnant, so even that hadn't been an indication. Sure, it had been a fair bit lighter, but she'd just brushed it off. She didn't have morning sickness, although that could have been because she'd recently started eating mostly vegetarian; it was easier to get meals from foraging than trying to hunt while they were constantly on the move. She didn't put on much weight for the first few months, either.

No, what had tipped them off about the pregnancy was wholly unexpected. And just a little terrifying for Lucy.

She'd complained of a headache while they sat around the fire, and turned in early. Cobra came into the tent a short while later with a flask of fresh water from the nearby stream. He laid down behind her, wrapped his arm around her waist and up between her breasts and pressed his chest flush against her back while she drank.

"I told Jellal we should rest for a couple days," he whispered. "No reason to run ourselves ragged right now."

Lucy gulped down the last drop of water and laid her head down. "Sounds good," she sighed. "Give Macbeth a chance to get some good sleep for a change."

"Do you need anything?"

Lucy was about to shake her head no, but then a sharp pain pierced the space between her eyebrows. There was no bright light to give her a sudden migraine like this. She hissed and grabbed Cobra's hand, holding tightly to it and hoping with everything she was worth that the pain would go the hell away.

' _... Sorano…. pain meds… help…'_

"Want me to see if Sorano's got some pain meds?" Cobra asked. "It might help."

Lucy's brow furrowed and she turned toward him slightly. He didn't look worried in the slightest. He looked the same as always. "Huh?"

' _... must… tired… rest…'_

She had to have been losing her mind, or dreaming, or something. Because she was hearing Cobra's voice without his lips moving. And that wasn't fucking normal. Not at all.

Cobra chuckled quietly. "You should probably get some rest, Belle."

"Why do I hear you?" she asked.

' _Hear-'_

"Hear me?" He frowned. "I mean, I'm talking." He pulled his hand from her grasp and pressed it to her forehead, watching as she bit back a whimper at the contact. "Belle-"

"I _hear_ you," she said. Lucy's eyes closed and she pressed his hand more firmly against her forehead. The more of his skin she was in contact with, the clearer his voice became. It echoed slightly, and there was a tinny sort of warble to it, almost as though he was talking to her through a metal pipe underground. But she heard him.

' _She can't mean that she hears me the way I hear her. I wouldn't wish this shit on anyone.'_

"That's exactly what I mean," she said. "And if this is even a fraction of what you hear, then I completely understand." Her eyes slid open and she found him staring down at her in surprise. It was so rare that Cobra was surprised. She almost wanted to take a picture of it for posterity, but she couldn't because she was still hearing the way his thoughts whirled around in his head.

' _Fuck. No. She's not supposed to hear this. It'll drive her crazy, and then who will be there to keep me in check when I start going crazy and killing everything, and fuck what I wouldn't give to kill something right now. Flay it, carve it up. I want to carve something. Carve it, carve, carve, carve. Fuck, focus. Not on skin and blood. Focus on Lucy.'_

Was this the way he normally thought about things? Was this why he had a hard time controlling himself sometimes? It seemed as though thinking about murdering something was in a nearly constant loop underneath everything else Cobra thought about.

' _She hears it. That look, she hears it all. She'll leave now. She should've left a long time ago! Back when I killed those deer in that lake and she was wearing my shirt, making it look so fucking delicious, and it was the first time I saw her like that out in the sun. Fuck, she was so beautiful. So beautiful. So beautiful, I love the way she looks at me, smiles at me, how she holds me so close. Focus!'_

"Erik, relax," she said gently. Lucy rolled to face him, took his cheeks in her hands and pulled him into a slow kiss.

' _Kiss me… Kiss me until I forget how to hear everything… Kiss me… until it's just me and you… so perfect… perfect… love her so much…'_

Lucy smiled and nipped at his lips. "I love you too, handsome."

"What's going on?" he asked. He didn't stop kissing her. He couldn't. Not when his hand slipped under her shirt and his fingers danced along her spine, stopping between her shoulder blades. In the three years since they'd gotten married, he'd grown more addicted to her. The feel of her skin under his fingers, how she always tried to mold her body to his. Her hands in his hair and the how he could feel her smiling against his lips every single time they kissed.

He'd become a sappy fool around Lucy, but it was better than the alternative.

There were days when he wondered how he'd gone on living when he'd been consumed with thoughts of murder and destruction on a daily basis. He could barely remember how it had felt, having to hide his pastime from everyone around him - even though Macbeth and the others knew exactly what he did when he disappeared for days on end.

He groaned quietly as her leg curled around his hip, and she rolled on top of him. It wasn't often that Lucy was on top. Every once in a while, definitely, but for the most part, he liked being able to move her however he wanted. And she definitely never complained about it.

Their kisses intensified while she pushed up the hem of his shirt and laid herself on him fully, allowing him to feel the soft, supple skin of her stomach.

The only problem was that her lips went slack against his. His eye shot open to look up at her, and he found her brows pinched and her eyes closed as she focused on something else. "Belle?"

"Oh shit," Lucy whispered. She forced herself to look down at him. "Erik…"

"What?" Her soul turned into a static-filled mess that he couldn't listen to. That was more alarming than anything else, even her being able to hear what he was thinking for no reason.

When she smiled, it was impossibly bright. Almost giddy. But what she said next, completely floored him. "I think you knocked me up."

He blinked. "You… huh?"

She looked down at where her stomach rested against his. "I'm not hearing your thoughts," she said. "Our baby is… Erik…"

"Wait… wh-what?"

Lucy sat up and crawled off of him. "Think of something," she said as he sat up as well. "Something I wouldn't know."

He thought she was losing her fucking mind.

"I don't hear anything," she laughed. She reached forward and placed his hand on her flat stomach, then closed her eyes. And all the while, Cobra kept staring at where his hand rested just beneath her navel. God, he wanted to lick her from head to toe. "You can lick me all over later on, Beast."

"Holy shit…" He looked from her stomach up to her face, more than ready to see disappointment in her eyes. She hadn't wanted to start a family just yet. He'd heard it. He was positive that she'd wanted to wait until they'd found Aquarius' key again. Apparently, the mermaid spirit wasn't giving Lucy any fucking clues. Not even whether or not they were getting close. He'd promised Lucy that they would make Aquarius a priority, and still…

"We'll find her," she said.

She wasn't disappointed in the slightest. He saw it. He _heard_ it. She was happy. She was ready for this. Lucy was excited to start a family, and she'd been secretly hoping it would happen when they least expected it. She'd always loved surprises that had nothing to do with people trying to kill her.

"Holy shit," Cobra whispered. He sat completely still when Lucy threw her arms around him and hugged him like there was no tomorrow. They were going to have a baby. Fuck. This was really happening. "Holy shit…"

Lucy drew back and kissed his scarred cheek, then crawled toward the entrance of their tent. She peeked her head out to find everyone was still sitting around the fire. Sorano and Meredy were braiding Macbeth's hair while he dozed off. Richard, Sawyer, and Jellal chatted quietly with one another. "Guys, you'll never believe it!"

"Are you feeling better?" Meredy asked, grinning at her.

"I think I'm pregnant!"

Meredy's suddenly shrill screech woke Macbeth up with a start. "You're pregnant?!"

"Maybe," Lucy laughed. "I keep hearing his thoughts when he touches me, and it's really strong when he touches my stomach and - _Ack_!"

Meredy blinked when Lucy was dragged back into the tent and her face was instantly replaced with Cobra's. "All of you might want to fuck off for a bit," he said, grinning wickedly at them.

"Gross, Cobra," Macbeth sighed. Still, he stood and dusted off his pants.

"Fuck you," Cobra laughed. "I'm gonna be a dad, which means I need to fuck my wife."

"That's how we got into this in the first place!" Lucy giggled from inside the tent.

Cobra disappeared from sight and the rest of Crime Sorciere stared at the flap when they heard Lucy's playful squeal quickly shift into an aroused, throaty moan.

One week later, they would take a trip down to the nearest hospital and find out that Lucy was already four months pregnant. Her uterus had tilted back, which gave her the appearance of not being pregnant at all. The baby was healthy, and she was assured that there would be no complications as long as her uterus started growing forward in the coming weeks - which it did.

Cobra was so happy with the news, he didn't even threaten the obstetrician for having to put her fingers in Lucy's vagina to do an exam. Although, he did threaten to maim Meredy for trying to intrude on the appointment and watch everything unfold.

* * *

On the easternmost border of Fiore, Jellal led his guild through a thick forest with tall, ancient oaks that blocked out nearly all of the heavy summer sun. Richard, Sorano, and Meredy surrounded a flying carpet with Cobra taking up the rear position, guarding the precious cargo it carried. Namely, a slumbering, nine-months pregnant Lucy who was using Macbeth's lap as a pillow.

It had been more than surprising for everyone when he hadn't yelled at Macbeth for offering to let Lucy ride with him. But it made sense to Cobra. She did need to walk and exercise, but with the amount of ground they covered in a day, it would tax her body way too much at this point in the pregnancy. Macbeth had gotten the flying carpet - Cobra suspected it was actually the same one he'd had more than ten years prior when they'd tried to activate Nirvana - after finding out that Lucy was pregnant. His reasoning had been that she needed a way to relax if they were still on the move; it was just an added bonus that he had to sit on the carpet to keep it afloat. So, when she'd started getting tired nearly an hour ago, Cobra had all but forced her to get on the carpet and use Macbeth as a pillow so she could be comfortable.

The teasing from their friends over him being an _overprotective dragon_ were annoying as hell, though.

"Are we almost there?" Meredy asked, peering around at the vines and moss hanging down here and there along the trail.

"Just up ahead," Jellal said. In only a few minutes, they came to a clearing that was covered in overgrown weeds so high, the stone ruins held within them were barely visible. But when the light shifted just right, they could see the back half of the building still had a second story. "Here it is."

Cobra looked from Jellal to Macbeth, then to the others. "What do you guys think?"

He'd found this place while wandering around after Lucy had yelled at him for hovering over her too much. She'd told him that she loved him, but if he didn't get the fuck away from her then she was going to take an industrial iron to his asshole and cauterize everything up to his gallbladder. He'd had to leave the camp with a raging fucking boner - seriously, why was she even sexier now that she'd gain twenty pounds and nearly twisted his ear off when she was upset? - and he'd stumbled on this place.

Some sort of ancient ruin. Where it was from, or who had lived there before, he hadn't a clue. And he didn't really fucking care all that much either. When he'd seen it, Cobra just had this feeling that he needed to show the others.

And there they were, looking at the broken stones and creeping vines, the cracked pillars and crumbling steps leading to what had once been a front door of sorts. He didn't need to be able to hear souls to know what they thought of it, though. Just looking at their faces was enough of a tell.

They loved it.

"It's settled then," said Jellal. He glanced at Lucy's still sleeping form when she shifted and mumbled something about french fries, then turned his attention back to the others. "It'll be a lot of work, but if we all pitch in then we'll have it done in no time."

"I have a feeling I'll be stuck here for a minute," Macbeth said. Cobra glanced over out of the corner of his eye to watch the way Macbeth gently stroked Lucy's hair. "She should probably get up soon to drink some water though."

"'m up," Lucy mumbled. "Whadd'I miss?"

Cobra chuckled and made his way over to the carpet as Macbeth gently landed it on the ground. Once settled, he knelt beside Lucy and helped her slowly sit up, giving Macbeth a solid reason for getting her head off his lap. "Just some walking," he said. "How are you feeling?"

She yawned and rubbed a hand over her swollen belly. "Like I'm ready to get this baby monster out of me." At his soft laugh, she smiled and leaned against him. "Can I walk for a bit?"

Cobra nodded and wrapped an arm around her waist. He didn't pull her up, but he was there in case she did need help standing. With how her center of gravity had changed in the past few months, Lucy was more prone to toppling over if she wasn't careful. Well, he didn't think she'd put on all that much weight. She was still almost as skinny as she'd been before getting pregnant, but every once in a while he could tell that her face had gotten a little more round. She glowed more now, but he couldn't pinpoint just how she was glowing. There was just something about her that was different, past the way her stomach stuck out and how she'd started waddling when she walked.

"It's a good thing you feel like walking," he said once she was on her feet. "It's time for the tour."

"Tour?"

Ah, it seemed the baby-brain was strong with her that day. "Yeah," he said, smiling down at the confused pinch in her brow. His free arm swept out before them. "Welcome to the Crime Sorciere guild hall."

Lucy blinked and took everything in from the low-hanging vines up in the trees to the weeds and clusters of flowers poking out at odd angles from the broken stones. The building itself was mostly decimated, though whether it had been damaged in the war or not, she wasn't sure. There were still things being rediscovered even nearly four years later. "Guild hall…"

She vaguely remembered Cobra and the others talking about trying to find a place to really settle down. Had that been last week, or the week before?

' _We talked about it last week.'_

Lucy's lips lifted only slightly as she glanced up at Cobra. She could still hear his thoughts if he was within arm's reach - or anyone's if they were touching her skin. It had taken some getting used to, and she'd found out that what she heard wasn't nearly as intense as how he heard things. It was just the thoughts on the surface, not all the down to someone's soul. It wasn't her magic doing this in the first place, but their daughter's unrefined magic, so it made sense that it wouldn't be as strong as his own.

She let Cobra lead her around the perimeter of the building, and the rest of the guild followed as he pointed out different things. One area looked as though it could be repurposed into a tool shed of sorts. She didn't really care all that much about the specifics. While Cobra talked about a large space near the back with only half a wall being made into a functioning kitchen, Lucy's eyes closed. Her head tipped back against his shoulder and she breathed deeply.

The air here was rich with the earthy scent of the forest. Dirt and shrubs and so many trees. Just a bonus of the increased hormones, she supposed. She could smell things so much better than before. She didn't smell animals near the area. There were no hints of dung still in the air. Flowers, though. She definitely smelled flowers.

"Can we have a garden?" she asked softly. "The flowers smell so good."

Sorano nudged Sawyer in the side and they both smiled when they saw the way Cobra nestled his nose in Lucy's golden hair to hide his grin. "I wouldn't be opposed to a garden," Sorano said. "It might be fun to learn how to do it."

"We can do whatever we want here," Jellal said. He stepped away from the group and over a pile of rubble. "This would be a good common area."

"Are these stairs safe?" Meredy asked.

"Sort of," Cobra said. "Be careful when you get up to the second floor. Some of the stones are loose."

"Can we look?" Lucy whispered, pouting up at him. It wasn't necessary though. Of course he would take her up there. And besides, a good portion of the second floor was visible from where they stood on the ground, but she wanted to know what else he and Jellal had cooked up for plans.

It had been quite the sight to see, with Jellal and Cobra huddled over a piece of paper, drawing out plans and marking things in a ledger she'd never seen before. She kind of liked that they'd been working together for a change.

While Cobra carefully guided her up the stairs, Lucy found herself silently thanking the stars that she wouldn't be pregnant for too much longer. It would have been a bitch to climb up and down these steps in her current condition, even if the stones hadn't been shifting under her feet just slightly. The errant thought crossed her mind that if she didn't weigh so much, the stones wouldn't be doing that, but she dismissed it before Cobra could even turn her way.

She was actually considered slightly underweight by her doctor. But the baby was healthy, and that was all that mattered. Even if Lucy had gained another twenty pounds, she wouldn't have minded as long as their daughter was healthy. The doctor had said that, with how active she was, it made sense for her to be thinner. And if the doctor wasn't concerned about it, then she wouldn't be either.

"We don't need offices like they have at Fairy Tail for the S Class mages. And if this is gonna be a base of operations, we need a place to live. So the bedrooms will be up here," Cobra said once they reached the top of the crumbling stairs. "Jellal and I figured if we rebuild with the same materials, it'll save us a lot of hassle."

"So all stone?" she asked. She reached out and let her fingers drift along the moist moss creeping along one wall that was still standing. "We'll need rugs and a fireplace, then. It'll be freezing come winter."

Cobra nodded. "When the time comes, me and Sawyer will go out and get some vulcan pelts and we'll tan them. It'll limit the money we'll have to spend for furnishing." There was a lot that could be made from the forest around them. They were nearly ten miles from the nearest town that had any sort of transportation, so it would be a bit of a hassle to get supplies for the time being. They could make it work though.

He led her further from the stairs, pushing Lucy behind him so he could test the stones before she touched them. They stopped at the edge of the stone that overlooked the first floor, and he gestured to an empty doorway on the right. "Jellal can make this into his office for official guild shit, but over here…"

Lucy bit her lips and tiptoed after Cobra, pressing herself up against a half wall to squeeze past a bit of rubble blocking another doorway on the left.

"Our room," Cobra said. He only let her peek through the door. It wasn't stable enough inside. Sure, he'd gone in and checked it out, but he'd also slipped and scratched the shit out of his back when he fell down to the first floor. Hell no, his pregnant wife was _not_ going in that room until it was complete and perfect and not a safety hazard.

"I can't wait to see what it looks like," she said. A slow grin stretched across her lips and her eyes misted with tears.

"Everyone will have their own bathroom, and we'll sort out water pipes and all that bullshit," he said. This place didn't have anything of the sort, but if there was one thing the majority of their guild was good at, it was construction. At least this building wasn't going to be made with the blood and sweat and tears of slaves. Everyone who worked on it wanted it to be created.

"Closets?" Lucy asked. She started inching her way back toward the stairs, then laughed when Macbeth appeared in the air before them, riding on his carpet.

"Hop on," he yawned. "You don't need to be up here right now."

"She's fine," Cobra muttered. Lucy smiled gently at him and placed her hand in his. After a moment, he nodded and helped her climb onto Macbeth's stupid flying carpet, watching as they flew back down to where it was completely safe for her to stand. Cobra sighed and jumped down to the first floor. "No closets," he said while standing beside her once again. "But Meredy's been in touch with that Laki girl from Fairy Tail, so we'll hire her to make some furniture and shit."

Lucy nodded and turned when Jellal called for her. Cobra watched her walk off toward the rest of the group, how she slowly lowered herself to the ground and started pulling weeds beside Meredy. As long as she didn't strain herself, he didn't see a problem with it. Maybe later on they could have her summon Taurus or Virgo to help with the heavy lifting.

Cobra knew that his stumbling on this ruined building was nothing more than pure luck. If it hadn't been for Lucy threatening him, he never would have gone wandering around the area. And if he hadn't found this place, the idea probably never would have fully formed in his mind.

Not right away, at least.

Because their daughter was going to be born in another week or so, and when he'd found this place, all he could think about was how hard it was going to be to raise her without a roof over their heads. He and Lucy had talked a fair bit about trying to find a place to actually live once they'd found out she was pregnant. Except nothing had ever come of it.

They moved around too often. The guild moved around too often, and the last thing Lucy had wanted was to leave the others behind.

So this was the compromise. Finding a place where they could all live together. An actual guild hall that could be a base of operations for them. This way, it didn't have to be everyone travelling together every single day for one job or another. He and Lucy could hold down the fort and raise their daughter while the others roamed around.

At least, that had been his intention when he'd told Jellal about what he'd found. The reality, however, was that they were going to finally become a legal guild. There was nothing stopping them, really. Everyone had been pardoned of their past crimes - and no one talked about the fact that Cobra was still committing some of those crimes to that day, since he'd cut back on the murdering thing quite a bit in the last few years - and they got job requests just like a normal guild.

Crime Sorciere was one step away from being a legal guild those days. All they really needed was a guild hall and a piece of paper with a seal of approval from the Magic Council.

The jobs they took those days weren't nearly as intense as they'd been a few years prior. With Zeref's defeat, dark guilds were finally starting to dwindle down to mere whispers in history books. Sure, there was still the occasional moron here and there who thought they could resurrect the Black Wizard, but even those idiots were starting to figure out that Zeref and his bullshit schemes were long gone.

There was no getting the bastard back, and Cobra swore to himself - and to Lucy - that he'd listen to every soul on Earthland for the rest of his life to make sure they never had to deal with the evil piece of shit again.

Cobra took a deep breath filled with the earthy air surrounding him, and gazed across the ruins to find Lucy once again. She hadn't moved from her spot. She was still carefully pulling weeds and flowers, minding her stomach with one hand rubbing slow circles over their unborn daughter.

When he thought about that conversation with Jellal so long ago - back when they'd first set up camp in Caelum on their way to find a lead to take down Zeref - Cobra remembered how he'd called the guild master out on not caring one fucking bit about what anyone else really wanted. He hadn't cared to know that Richard was searching for his brother, Wally. He hadn't cared that Sorano wanted to one day reunite with Yukino.

But since then, Jellal had a much more vested interest in their lives. And their desires. They were free to do whatever they wanted, and he'd told each of them that he wanted to help them achieve their goals.

He'd helped Sorano reunite with Yukino. They'd gone on one wild goose chase after another on search of Aquarius' key for Lucy.

Cobra hadn't really known at that time, what he'd wanted out of life. He'd just been wandering through the days, doing as he pleased. He still did most times. But now, he had someone else to look out for. Someone past himself, who actually cared what happened to him. Lucy loved him with her whole heart and soul, just as he loved her.

So, when he'd found this place, it had been an easy decision to finally tell Jellal what he wanted.

" _I want a place where my family can always be safe. Not just Lucy and the baby, but all of you. I want to be able to come back to one place, to know that it's mine, my family's, and that I'll be welcome there. What I want, Jellal, is to live long enough to see my child grow up having what I never had."_

Cobra had never been as open with anyone who wasn't Lucy as he'd been at that moment. He hadn't cared what it sounded like, or if Jellal thought he was being a sappy son of a bitch. Everyone knew, when it came to Lucy, he was. He'd accepted that fact years ago.

"Cobra," Macbeth said, nudging his shoulder to get his attention, "You gonna stand there all day?"

Cobra shook his head and chuckled as he glanced at the Reflector mage. "Macbeth," he said softly. That definitely had his attention. Cobra never called anyone by their name. Even to that day, after they'd all given up the names Brain had given them, he still refused to make the change. Macbeth was still Midnight to him. Sorano was still Angel. And they still answered to it, even though he was the only one to use those names. "Do me a favor."

"Possibly," Macbeth said. He was definitely wary, but Cobra didn't fault him for it.

He smirked and rested a tanned hand on his friend's shoulder. "Call me Erik."

Macbeth's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before returning to their normal half-lidded stare. His lightly glossed lips lifted in a tired smile. "You got it, Erik," he said. "Now, how about we go help before your wife starts yelling? She's scary while she's pregnant."

"Fuck that," he laughed. He and Macbeth made their way toward the rest of their guildmates. "She's scary even when she's not pregnant."

"That's saying something, coming from you."

"I know," he snorted. They parted ways when he stopped just next to Lucy, and he knelt beside her. "Need some help?"

She turned toward him with a smile already on her plump lips. He couldn't stop himself from leaning over and kissing her right then. He ignored Meredy's not-so-quiet _aww_ in favor of letting his lips move over Lucy's in a slow, tender kiss.

When he finally pulled away, there was a healthy flush on her cheeks that only deepened when his hand rested over hers on her swollen belly. "Promise to take it easy," he said.

"I promise," she giggled. They got to work, side by side, pulling weeds. It would take a lot of work, but he was determined to make this place into a home. Considering how much work was ahead of them, he figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to call up Natsu and see if his fellow Dragon Slayer would want to come out and help them. Then again, he already knew Natsu would say yes. And he would probably bring Lucy's old team from her time in Fairy Tail to help as well.

Their life was far from a fairy tale. He was a psychopath who still found ways to murder things when he needed to blow off steam. She was a saint who put up with his shit and still loved him regardless.

They were nowhere near perfect, but he loved it. He loved her. And maybe they would never really have a true happily ever after, but this was enough for him. And he knew, as he listened to the song in her soul and the life of their daughter growing inside her, that those fairy tales he'd heard so much about when he was younger could go fuck themselves. This was his fairy tale. His wife, his family, his home. Things he'd never imagined having were all right here in his grasp.

And Erik would gladly face a thousand dark mages and evil dragon wannabes to keep it forever.

* * *

Marie Heartfilia laid on her stomach in bed, her wide indigo eyes filled with tears that glistened in the soft lacrima lighting from the lamp on her nightstand.

Plump caramel cheeks lifted in a teary smile as Marie read the last words on the final page of the book in her hands. Her fingers brushed over the yellowed page and the overly slanted cursive she was already so familiar with.

She heard them coming well before their soft footsteps pausing in the open doorway would have drawn her attention. She'd always been able to hear them like this. She turned and her parents stood there, just inside her bedroom, looking back at her. Her mother smiled that same, easy smile that Marie had grown up with. She always smiled. And her father definitely looked amused. He wasn't quite smiling really, but Marie had grown up deciphering the looks he gave people. And this was as close as he usually got to smiling more often than not.

"How's that for a fairy tale?" he asked. She didn't need to be able to hear his thoughts to know that he was both on the verge of laughing, and trying not to get emotional over her having read the book he gave her.

Marie looked down at the book again. "So this is how you two fell in love, huh?"

"There's more it than that," her mother giggled. "Quite a bit was skipped over, I'd say."

' _Can't believe he actually let her read that in the first place.'_

Her father chuckled and pressed his lips to her mother's temple. Marie didn't try to avoid watching them. He'd always been so affectionate. Marie had never known anything different than the man who'd raised her, and had been around nearly every single day of her life. But the man in front of her, brushing his nose against her mother's cheek, wasn't the same man she'd read about.

She'd never known that her father was once a murderer, or in a dark guild. Or that he actually fucking _ate_ people when he was so inclined. Although, that did explain some things that she'd just overlooked in the past because her dad was way too sweet to actually _do_ the things she thought maybe he might be doing… Like that time he'd come home late from a mission and she'd sworn there was blood on his ear, but then he'd wiped it off and licked it, and she'd been so sure that no one would willingly lick blood off of themselves that she'd been convinced it was just jelly or something stupid.

Marie had also never known that her mother had once been in Fairy Tail, and on a team with Uncle Natsu and Aunt Erza. She'd always just assumed that her mom had been part of Crime Sorciere since the very beginning. She had one of the original guild marks that had been burned into her skin, not the kind that Marie had that was just a normal magical stamp. But now she knew why Uncle Jellal had changed it from a brand to just a normal guild stamp.

Because Crime Sorciere had once been the only home that a group of reformed criminals on the run had, and they'd sworn to themselves that they would never forget the crimes they'd committed. Now, it was still a small guild, but their newer members weren't criminals. They were definitely a little rough around the edges, and usually very young, but Marie had seen firsthand how well they worked when they had a real goal in mind.

Maybe Uncle Jellal had done it that way on purpose. He took in kids that reminded him of himself and the others, and made sure they never had to struggle to survive.

She realized in that moment, there was a lot she didn't know about her parents, or even her extended family in the guild. This book that her father had tossed at her the day before had told her more about their past than anything she'd heard in their thoughts. Like how his name used to be Cobra. Or how he'd nearly died just after marrying her mother.

The one consistent thing between this book's version of her father and the man she knew, was his relationship with their family.

He still tried to poison Uncle Jellal at least once a month. He still teased Uncle Macbeth and Aunt Meredy relentlessly for taking ten years to finally wake up naked in bed together after a drunken night. Marie remembered very clearly how confused she'd been at the tender age of six, because _Uncle Macbeth and Aunt Meredy always had sleepovers, so why's this different?_ To which her father had just laughed and laughed, and then he'd called Uncle Macbeth a dense twat and walked out of the room.

Her father still fights with Uncle Natsu every time they cross paths, too. Apparently, the fighting they did now was much friendlier than it used to be.

"It's got the important parts," he said, pulling Marie's attention back to them.

Her mother snored and rolled her eyes at him. "Detailed sex scenes are not important parts of our relationship."

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong," he said, smirking down at her. "Those are crucial."

Marie shook her head and astutely ignored the way her mother's fingers brushed through the greying hairs at his temples. Instead, she looked back down at the leatherbound book on her bed. She closed the book and her fingers brushed across the embossed cover.

There was something there that she'd never noticed before. Beyond the title that she hadn't fully understood until reading all the way through it. She hadn't recognized the author right away and had simply thought it was written by one of her ancestors somewhere down the line. Maybe it had just been a story that her father had though she would like. Except then the names became a little more familiar. She'd wanted to believe the familiar places were just a coincidence.

But the more she'd read, the more she realized that she knew that Midnight person, and she knew this Jellal. She recognized the serious guild master of Fairy Tail named Erza. These people weren't from some time long since passed, but they were still alive. They were her family.

And if that hadn't been enough, then the way parts of history started lining up with what she was reading, was the real kicker. Mostly, the Great Alvarez War that changed the landscape of Fiore, and the death of the Black Wizard Zeref and the Dragon King Acnologia in X792. The founding of Crime Sorciere as a legal guild in X796, the same year she was born.

When Marie looked down at the author's name, she knew just who it was that wrote this. Her mother was a famous author those days, but this was something special. Something from the heart. And the only person who could write a story like this, who could know what everyone was thinking and feeling all at once, was the man who she'd inherited her magic from.

She peeked at her parents again, and found them lost in their own little world as they gazed at one another. Marie didn't miss the way her father smiled the longer he looked into her mother's eyes. She'd noticed a long time ago that the only time he truly smiled was when her mother was wrapped up in his arms, when he was holding her close and thinking about how much he loved her. Sure, her father smiled when he hugged Marie as well, but it wasn't the same. That was a fatherly smile, a proud sort of lift to his lips.

What he did when looking at her mother was on a whole other level. It was deep, like the love they shared had wrapped itself around the very center of his soul and he never wanted to untangle the sticky mess left in its wake. And maybe he didn't.

Maybe that's what love really was.

It left Marie wondering if that was something that she'd ever find in her lifetime. Not just someone to love - she was rather fond of that one boy who hung around outside the guild with the forest green hair - but someone who would look at her the way her father looked at her mother.

What she wanted was her very own happily ever after.

That was when it hit her. The reason her father had given her this book to read. She'd been thinking about the fairy tales that her mother read to children at the library in town every weekend, and what it might be like to be a princess whose Prince Charming was just a nap away. Was this his way of telling her something? Maybe that she didn't need to wait for her own fairy tale to come true. She could make one herself, just like her parents had.

In their own fucked up way, they'd found their very own happily ever after. And in Marie's opinion, what they had was ten times better than any princess in a tower could hope for. Because they'd fought for this. They'd nearly died for this life they had now. Her mother and father helped to build their guild hall from the ground up with the other original Crime Sorciere members, and they'd more than earned the happiness they now shared.

"You coming to dinner sometime tonight, Viper?" her father asked.

Her eyes narrowed in reflexive annoyance. She'd asked him to stop calling her _Viper_ when she was ten years old. As a sixteen year old girl, she was well past the point of baby nicknames. But then she paused before that oh-so-familiar _Shut up, Dad_ could come barreling from between her lips.

Marie looked right into his single eye, and she understood it. She understood why he called her that, instead of his little angel or anything else. Because she was _his_ daughter. And no matter how much she acted like her mother, there was still quite a bit of her father in her as well. She was just as vicious with her words as he was.

Finally, Marie smiled and tucked her pale pink hair behind her ear. "Yeah, Pops," she said softly, drawing her mother's wide-eyed attention in an instant. Marie's thumb curved around the title embossed on the cover of the book, then she stood and made her way to the door and downstairs to the common area for dinner with her family.

That night, as she sat between Aunt Sorano - who was playing footsie with some barely-twenty dweeb - and Uncle Macbeth (who would have face-planted in his bowl of soup, if it hadn't been for his wife giving him a purple nurple), Marie realized that her dad was absolutely right.

 _Who Says Fairy Tales Are Normal?  
by  
Cobra Heartfilia_

 _ **.The End.**_


End file.
